Google founders Larry and Sergey will step down from their roles as CEO and president of Alphabet, the pair announced Tuesday, with Google CEO Sundar Pichai taking the top spot at the search giant’s parent company. In a letter published on the Google blog, CEO Larry Page and President Sergey Brin wrote that the move was effective immediately.
“We’ve never been ones to hold on to management roles when we think there’s a better way to run the company,” the pair wrote. “And Alphabet and Google no longer need two CEOs and a president.”
The move coincedentally came on the same day that four former Google employees who were unceremoniously fired from their positions just before Thanksgiving said that they will file charges of “unfair labor practices” with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The group had been attempting to organize a Google employee union prior to their terminations — and are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to unrest of late among Google’s staffers.
Both Page and Brin will still remain active as co-founders, shareholders, and board members of Alphabet, according to an Alphabet press release. Pichai will take on the additional role of Alphabet CEO, Page and Brin wrote.
“Today, in 2019, if the company was a person, it would be a young adult of 21, and it would be time to leave the roost. While it has been a tremendous privilege to be deeply involved in the day-to-day management of the company for so long, we believe it’s time to assume the role of proud parents — offering advice and love, but not daily nagging!” the co-founders wrote in their letter.
Together, Page and Brin founded what would become one of the biggest tech giants in the world in September 1998. It wasn’t until October 2015 that Alphabet became Google’s parent company. Page only took over as Google’s CEO in 2011, when he replaced Eric Schmidt.
“The founders have given all of us an incredible chance to have an impact on the world. Thanks to them, we have a timeless mission, enduring values, and a culture of collaboration and exploration that makes it exciting to come to work every day. It’s a strong foundation on which we will continue to build,” Pichai added at the end of Page and Brin’s letter.
Pichai joined Google in 2004 to lead the development of Google Toolbar and Google Chrome. After being appointed to lead product and engineering for Google products and platforms, he became Google’s CEO in August 2015.
