Greg Sterling on October 26, 2014

Late final week Re/Code broke the information that Sundar Pichai, who had been in control of Chrome and Android, would now be running most of Google’s important product lines (search, advertisements, Chrome, Android, commerce, maps, Google+). With the numerous exceptions of YouTube, Google X, Nest and a couple other areas, the executives answerable for Google’s core product groups will now be reporting to Pichai and not to page. the rationale supplied at the back of the merchandising was to liberate web page to believe the big image. this is consistent with web page now not looking Google to gradual and change into less progressive as it matures. He has shuffled executives a number of occasions given that returning to the CEO function in 2011. I’m sure web page used to be taking into consideration the transfer ahead of Google’s up to date Q3 earnings, which dissatisfied investors. however he can have felt extra urgency in the wake of the market’s response to flat or poor boom in certain areas (e.g., CPCs). One point of view on what web page has done is that he created a quasi COO position and put Pichai in it. because of this I made the comparability to Tim cook dinner in the headline. prepare dinner was Apple’s COO sooner than succeeding Jobs as CEO after the latter’s resignation. (this is not to suggest that, like prepare dinner at Apple, Pichai will take over the helm at Google, alternatively.) Had web page formally announced that Pichai was once moving into a COO role i think there would had been a great deal more drama and hypothesis than there has been. Reportedly, Pichai’s SVP title won’t change — for now. before any formal title trade, web page could also be waiting to peer how it works out — at which point he may bestow upon Pichai even more authority in line with a COO position. regardless of whether or not that happens, Pichai has arguably simply transform the 2nd most important individual at Google after page himself.