Newsletter
Google’s recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revealed that it is proposing to spin off all its non-core businesses into distinct entities separate from Google’s bread and butter internet and related assets such as search, ads, maps, and Android, all of which, will continue to remain under the Google brand. A new holding company called Alphabet Inc. has been created, which will be the parent company for Google as well as all these diverse businesses that Google has been investing its time, money and energy into of late.
According to the regulatory filing, the Current VP of products at Google, Sunder Pichai, will take over as the CEO of Google, while the current CEO and one of the two co-founders of the original company, Larry Page, will take over as the CEO of Google’s parent company, Alphabet. Meanwhile, the other co-founder and current President, Sergey Brin, will become the President of the newly incorporated entity, and will continue to be in charge of the Google X projects. The current Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and Chief Counsel David Drummond, will have the exact same designations at Alphabet. The current Google CFO, Ruth Porter, will henceforth do the job for both companies. While the leaders of most of the other Google companies remain unchanged, we thought we’d give you a rundown anyways to freshen up your memory.
Arthur Levinson runs Calico, Google’s biotech venture that looks to combat aging and associated illnesses. He held the corner office at biotech firm Genetech from 1995 to 2009 and was the Chairman of the company from 1999 to 2014. In a curios coincidence, Levinson also happens to be a member on the board of directors at Apple Inc., a company which has slowly but surely surpassed Microsoft as Google’s rival number 1. Coming to Nest Labs, a smart home devices company that Google acquired last year for $3.2 billion; the company was co-founded by ex-Apple employee Tony Fadell, who, at the Cupertino-based company, led the team that built the wildly successful media player, iPod. Fadell is currently the CEO of Nest laboratories.
Google Fiber is yet another company that won’t have a Google prior to its name anymore, thanks to the restructuring. Craig Barratt however, will continue to lead the company, which aims to build FTTH infrastructure throughout the US in order to be able to provide ultra-high-speed internet services to consumers. Dan Doctoroff runs Sidewalk labs, a Google-owned company that looks to improve urban living by tackling issues such as pollution, energy usage and transportation. Doctoroff was once the CEO of Bloomberg, and was the Deputy Mayor of NYC under Mike Bloomberg.
Coming to Google’s Investment arm, Google Capital, David Lawee has been heading the company and will continue to do so, whereas the Venture Capital division of the company, Google Ventures, is led by Bill Maris. Susan Wojcicki is the CEO of YouTube, which continues to remain a Google company after the restructuring, and former Chief Business Officer Omid Kordestani will be functioning in an advisory role for both Google and its parent company Alphabet.