Wednesday, December 4, 2019

As Sundar Pichai becomes Alphabet chief, founders get $2-bn retirement gift


The Google co-founders added more than $1 billion each to their net worth as the firm's shares rose 1.9 per cent in New York.


Larry Page and Sergey Brin just got a $2.3 billion retirement gift from investors.
The Google co-founders, who announced Tuesday they were stepping down from day-to-day management of parent Alphabet Inc, added more than $1 billion each to their net worth as the firm’s shares rose 1.9 per cent in New York.

They each own about 6 per cent of the internet giant and still control Alphabet through special voting shares.

The gains come as investors welcome Sundar Pichai’s elevation to chief executive officer of Alphabet, replacing Page in the role. It means the three most valuable US tech firms no longer have a founder at the helm.

Like Apple Inc’s Tim Cook and Microsoft Corp.’s Satya Nadella, Pichai is a long-time lieutenant who steadily worked his way up the corporate ladder. More than 15 years after he joined the Mountain View-based company he’s replacing Page in the top job. Brin is stepping down as president, leaving Pichai as undisputed leader.

The shift reflects Google’s accession into corporate middle age. Started in a California garage by Brin and Page in 1998, the firm had revenue of $137 billion in 2018 and today boasts a market value of $893 billion. That’s behind only Apple and Microsoft on the S&P 500 Index.

Founder free
Other Silicon Valley giants are also founder free. Larry Ellison’s Oracle Corp. is headed by Safra Catz, though Ellison is still involved as the company’s chairman. Some younger companies -- such as Uber Technologies Inc. and We Co. -- have turned to outsiders amid turmoil

There are some notable exceptions. Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg are still at the helm of Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc. respectively, which are the fourth- and fifth-largest US companies by market value.

Such a transition has proved to be a boon for Apple and Microsoft. The iPhone maker’s shares have risen by more than 400 per cent since Cook took the helm in August 2011 and Microsoft has quadrupled on Nadella’s watch.

Business Standard

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