![]() ![]() There was no guarantee other browsers would continue making it easy for toolbars like Google’s to be installed by users, particularly Microsoft, who was still hoping they could establish their own inroads in the search market with Bing.īut Chrome wasn’t just another alternative web browser, it was a foothold on the desktop extending Google’s reach into the consumer web experience. ![]() Pichai identified a weakness in Google’s strategy, and Chrome began as a defensive play against the established browsers to protect and grow Google’s search business (which still generates much of the company’s revenue). At the time, Internet Explorer was the “installed by default” incumbent for many users, while Firefox was the alternative browser of choice. Pichai started at Google leading product management for the Google toolbar, a critically strategic product that enabled default search queries on different web browsers to go through Google and allow them to track browsing behavior to power the AdWords targeting engine. He then joined Google in 2004, and 11 years later found himself named CEO as part of the Alphabet reorganization of the firm. Next up was a management consulting role with McKinsey & Company. He abandoned plans for a PhD and instead worked as an engineer and product manager at Applied Materials before getting his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Sundar Pichai’s Life before GoogleĪfter completing his undergraduate studies in metallurgy engineering in his native India, Pichai headed to Stanford University where he earned a Master’s degree in material sciences and engineering. The short answer: By realizing that a decidedly unsexy yet strategically critical aspect of Google’s search business was vulnerable and turning it into the key driver behind some of the tech giant’s most influential products.īut before we dissect this pivotal moment in Google’s history and how Pichai used it to propel Google into completely new markets-and himself up the corporate ladder-let’s step back and review how he even got to that position. How did this relatively unknown product manager in his early 40s rocket through the ranks to take control of one of the largest and most powerful tech companies of all time? It’s been nearly six years since Sundar Pichai took the reins as CEO of Google. ![]()
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