New Google CEO ascended ranks quietly with Chrome on his resume

A low-key style and an unusually firm handle on diplomacy propelled new Google chief executive Sundar Pichai to the top of the search engine giant, former colleagues said. He cemented his success by creating the Chrome browser, they say. And now, as part of a major overhaul of its operating structure, Google said on Monday that it was creating a new holding company called Alphabet that will be headed by Pichai. Google co-founder Larry Page will step down as Google’s chief and Pichai was appointed as head of a “slimmed-down” version of the company.

Google has politics like any other large company, and Sundar navigated those politics to make his team successful while inflicting the least possible damage on any other team.

Google product manager Chris Beckmann

Pichai aided his ascent by never trying to steal the limelight and advancing his agenda through quiet advocacy, according to former colleague Keval Desai. Such diplomacy could come in handy as Pichai continues to oversee some big challenges for Google, including navigating an often-difficult relationship with partners like South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, the top Android smartphone maker. A soccer fan who hails from Tamil Nadu state in southern  India, Pichai holds a master’s degree from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

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