Five reasons why Sundar Pichai was made Google CEO

Sundar Pichai, head of product and engineering at Google, was announced as CEO of the company on Tuesday. A shocking move on many accounts for many, but logical, because Google is arguably known as an extension of its co-founders: Larry Page and Sergey Brin. 

Google as we know it now ceases to exist. A new entity called Alphabet has been created by Google's co-founders, where Page takes over as CEO and Brin the president. Google, on the other hand, becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary. The new entity has been created because Google itself was moving into many divergent product categories which were at loggerheads with its core internet services business. Research skunkworks groups like Google X, healthcare focused groups like Calico and Life Sciences, and IoT subsidiaries like Nest are now part of Google.

Hence, Alphabet has been created, where a much trimmed down Google is another cog in the wheel, focusing on internet products - Android, Chrome, Apps, YouTube, Maps and Search.

So here's why Pichai was made the CEO of Google:

1. Pichai was already heading product management and engineering for all these projects since last October. This was intended so that Page himself could focus on "moonshot" projects that could have a 10X impact. For all intents, Android, Chrome, Apps, YouTube, Maps and Search were being headed by him. Pichai was making all the big calls for these products.

2. Pichai is considered to be one of the most versatile executives in the tech industry. With a shrewd instinct for the product, coupled with business savvy, Pichai is the perfect person to lead Google's internet products. Perhaps, even more than Larry Page, whose penchant for moonshot is sometimes so long-term that it can be considered to be illogical.

3. Pichai is Page's most trusted lieutenant. Since 2012, when Page took over the reins of Google again from Eric Schmidt, Page installed a core team of vice presidents which included people like Vic Gundotra, Andy Rubin, Pichai, Nikesh Arora and more. Pichai has outlasted all of them at the company partially because one by one he managed to cannibalise their roles into his initial role of being the head of Chrome. Rubin relinquished control of Android in 2014, for a robotic project at Google and Pichai was made the singular overlord of Google's two operating systems. Under him both operating systems have come closer. By October 2014, Pichai was made the single most influential executive at Google because he took over product management and engineering for everything from Chrome to Google Maps.

4. Pichai being an extremely talented executive has also been a target for Google's competitors. Back in late 2013, when Microsoft was looking to succeed Steve Ballmer as CEO, Pichai for some time was in the running to replace Ballmer. Eventually, Microsoft chose internally with Satya Nadella. However, with Page being CEO, there was little room for growth for Pichai. Now that Alphabet has been created Pichai is now Google's CEO. Alphabet could also be a move towards retaining some of the Google's talent. In the last few years, many old hands have moved on from the company. Pichai's exit will be a big blow.

5. Pichai is also the person at Google who's focused more towards emerging markets than any other Google executive. As emerging markets are seen as future growth markets, a focus on them is seen to be critical. Under Pichai, Google launched the Android One programme in India and other emerging markets. Chrome OS was conceived as a OS for low-cost computers and that are tethered to the internet, something Pichai believes to be the future of computing in emerging markets. YouTube is now offline and content can be consumed without the internet and the same holds true for Google Maps. Google Now, Search and Voice Search provide the best machine learning adaptive experience and are widely available in emerging markets unlike competing products from Microsoft, and Apple. Under Pichai, even Google+ is being rejigged as its powerful photos tool has been transformed into arguably the best free photos solution available on Android and iOS.