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How Google's new CEO plans to lead the company

How Google's new CEO plans to lead the company

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Sundar Pichai has been overseeing Google's core businesses for months

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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.

Read more: Sundar's Google