CLAIMS TO FAME
Pichai spearheaded the creation of Chrome, Google’s web browser, shortly after joining the company in 2004. It is now the most popular browser in the U.S. and has helped Google cement its lead in search.
CURRENT CHALLENGES
Google has dominated online searches for more than a decade, but mobile users are increasingly going to specific apps to find information that Google’s web-crawling bots can’t access.
BIGGEST CHAMPION
Google co-founder Larry Page. He increasingly relied on Pichai in recent years to manage Google’s day-to-day operations.
BIGGEST OBSTACLE
European regulators, who have filed an antitrust charge that could force the tech giant to pay $6 billion in fines and change the way it displays search results.
CAN HE DO IT?
Yes. Pichai has shown a skill for getting different divisions of the company to play nice together for the greater good.
THE STATS
$460 billion
Google’s valuation the day after the Alphabet announcement
3
Number of times Google has changed CEOs
11
Number of years Pichai has spent at Google
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