How Google's new CEO plans to lead the company

Google's new CEO plans to lead the company
Sundar Pichai has been overseeing Google's core businesses
for months
By Chris Welch on August 10, 2015 05:30 pm
   
Sundar Pichai has just been named CEO of Google, with
company co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin now
focusing their time on the just-announced Alphabet.
"Sundar has been saying the things I would have said
(and sometimes better!) for quite some time now, and
I’ve been tremendously enjoying our work together,"
Page wrote in today's blog post. "Sergey and I have been
super excited about his progress and dedication to the
company."
Last October, Pichai was handed oversight of many of
Google's most important businesses, so the chief
executive role is a natural fit for the man who ascended
through company ranks like few before him. In May, we
spoke to Pichai about his plans for Android and pivotal
Google services like search, advertising, Maps, and
more. Now at the helm of a "slightly slimmed down
Google" (in Page's words), we expect his mission to be
largely unchanged. "At our core, we want to build
products for everyone," he said in May. The entire
interview is worth reading, but the following excerpts
offer a very clear sense of where Sundar Pichai will take
Google.
I want Google to strive to do that — not just build
technology for certain segments. For me, it matters that
we drive technology as an equalizing force, as an
enabler for everyone around the world.
Which is why I do want Google to see, push, and invest
more in making sure computing is more accessible,
connectivity is more accessible. And going back to our
core mission, when we do things like machine learning
and assist users, I view that as a huge game changer.
Because over time, someone who has [access to] just a
smartphone hopefully has...the same [capabilities] as
someone who is more privileged. That’s what’s very
exciting about what we are doing.
Where we see traction, we will double down. Otherwise,
we will course-correct. We will do both. We need to be
thoughtful about these things. We do them because we
believe that software is at a stage where [it is]
increasingly playing a more and more critical role in
solving [problems] it didn’t before.