AFP, SAN FRANCISCOGoogle cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are stepping down from their roles at the helm of parent firm Alphabet Inc, and handing the reins to Google chief executive officer Sundar Pichai, the company said on Tuesday. Pichai is to take over from Page as chief executive officer of the holding firm, a Silicon Valley titan that includes Google as well as units focused on “other bets” in areas including self-driving vehicles and life sciences. Page and Brin, who is Alphabet president, “will continue their involvement as cofounders, shareholders and members of Alphabet’s board of directors,” the company said. Pichai is likely to fill a void at the company as it faces antitrust investigations and controversies over privacy and data practices in the US and elsewhere. The move “ratifies that the [Google] founders have stepped aside almost entirely,” he added.

Source: Taipei Times December 04, 2019 15:56 UTC