Changing of the guard: Google founders make way as tech giant gears up for new era
Google’s announcement that co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will step back from their top roles is, in some senses, a groundbreaking moment. Since starting the iconic search engine in a rented California garage in 1998, the pair have grown the firm into one of the world’s most valuable companies, turning themselves into two of the world’s richest men in the process.
Google’s ubiquity – it was officially recognised as a verb 2006 – means it is now hard to imagine life without the colourful search engine. However, Page’s and Brin’s role in organising the inchoate mass of the early World Wide Web should not be overlooked.
Culturally, too, the pair’s influence is significant. Over the last two decades, Google has laid the groundwork for the modern Silicon Valley, nurturing – for better or for worse – a culture of flexible working alongside its unofficial motto of “don’t be evil”.
Read more: Google founders to step down as co-chief executives of parent firm Alphabet
Other Bets
But although Google – and parent company Alphabet – has held its own amid the emergence of new tech rivals, it’s clear the company is moving into a new era, and the decision to make way for fresh meat in many ways seems logical.
With the triumphs of the search era and Gmail behind it, the Californian giant is now looking to new avenues such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI), which are contained within its aptly-named Other Bets division.
“Page and Brin revolutionised our access to information and services in the last 10 years, but innovation in the core business is not as fast paced as it once was,” says Jim Cridlin, global head of innovation and partnerships at Mindshare.
“Google won the search wars. The question now is will it win in the new battlegrounds of cloud services, AI and all its ‘Other Bets’.”
Moreover, Google may well be moving into choppy regulatory waters. Political pressure for tighter regulation of tech giants is picking up pace, with critics citing concerns including Silicon Valley’s use of data, its dominance in the digital advertising market and its failure to police content posted online by its users.
It is not the first time the company has faced regulatory hurdles. However, with public opinion turning against the tech giants, a changing of the guard may be a necessary measure.
Read more: EU Commission opens investigation into data usage by Google and Facebook
Proud parents
Moreover, while Page and Brin’s departure will be lamented in break-out spaces across the West Coast, in reality the transition has been gradual.
The pair have stepped back from the limelight in recent years, allowing Google chief executive Sundar Pichai to become the public face of the company. Pichai now becomes chief executive of Alphabet, and takes responsibility for the day-to-day running of the firm.
Page and Brin have said they will now adopt the role of “proud parents – offering advice and love, but not daily nagging”. But with more than 50 per cent of voting rights still resting with the founders, it’s clear they’re not ready to relinquish power just yet.