Page and Brin officially step away from Google management

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have announced they will step-back from their management roles at Alphabet, handing the reigns over to current Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

This is a major moment for the technology world, as two of the most influential figures officially put one foot into the retirement. Page and Brin will continue as board members at Alphabet, though operational control of the group, as well as the core Google business and the investment unit, Other Bets, fall under Pichai’s remit.

In a letter on the Google blog, Page and Brin liken Google to a developing youth. Now at the age 21, the duo have to let go and let Google flourish, with the letter suggesting the pair have taken the company as far as they can, and new leadership is needed.

“We’ve never been ones to hold on to management roles when we think there’s a better way to run the company. And Alphabet and Google no longer need two CEOs and a President,” the letter states.

“Going forward, Sundar will be the CEO of both Google and Alphabet. He will be the executive responsible and accountable for leading Google and managing Alphabet’s investment in our portfolio of Other Bets. We are deeply committed to Google and Alphabet for the long term, and will remain actively involved as Board members, shareholders and co-founders.”

The change to the management structure is immediate.

In fairness to Page and Brin, they arguably have earned a rest. With Google now 21 years old it is now easy to underestimate the remarkable impact this pair have had on the world. And it all started with such a simple idea; search engines are rubbish, we can do it better.

This is why Google is such an influential company and will continue to be even more influential in the future. It invests very intelligently to create products which are best-in-breed. The Google search engine started it all, before the Android acquisition allowed the team to dominate mobile.

Moving forward, the team is making significant investments to gain influence in the smart home, consumer IOT and connected car ecosystems. The smart bet is that it will succeed. This is the beauty of the Google business model and investment strategy; its simplicity. Google is not venturing too far, it is attempting to apply its search and assistance expertise to different environments. Google started on desktop computers, then it moved to mobile and into the living room. Soon enough it will be in our cars and on our wrists.

Pichai has already proved he is a very capable businessman and leader, so its time for Page and Brin to put their feet-up and enjoy the California sun, assuming they have the factor 80 on hand.