Google CEO Sundar Pichai takes on added remit as chief of Alphabet

Google CEO Sundar Pichai (pictured) will helm the role of CEO of Google and parent company Alphabet. He will remain the CEO of Google, and assume the role of managing Alphabet’s investment in its portfolio of Other Bets (other revenues). Pichai has been working with Alphabet for close to 15 years.

Under his leadership as CEO, Google has been focused on developing products and services, powered by the latest advances in AI. It has invested in new opportunities such as Google Cloud and YouTube and continuously works on advanced technologies, including machine learning and quantum computing. The management change comes as Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the CEO and president, respectively, of Alphabet, will be stepping down from these roles. Both Page and Brin will still be involved with the company as co-founders, shareholders and members of Alphabet’s board of directors.

Page and Brin jointly said in a blog post that:

Alphabet and Google no longer need two CEOs and a president.

Hence moving forward, Pichai will be the executive responsible and accountable for leading Google, and managing Alphabet’s investment in its portfolio of Other Bets. According to the former heads of Alphabet, Pichai brings humility and a deep passion for technology to the company's users, partners and employees every day.

"He shares our confidence in the value of the Alphabet structure, and the ability it provides us to tackle big challenges through technology. There is no one that we have relied on more since Alphabet was founded, and no better person to lead Google and Alphabet into the future," Page and Brin added.

John Hennessy, chairman of Alphabet’s board of directors, said it is impossible to overstate Page and Brin’s contributions over the past 21 years, and that he is grateful that they will continue their involvement on the board.

Pichai said: “I’m excited about Alphabet and its long term focus on tackling big challenges through technology. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Page and Brin in our new roles. Thanks to them, we have a timeless mission, enduring values, and a culture of collaboration and exploration. It’s a strong foundation on which we will continue to build.”

Meanwhile, Google is in a bit of hot water currently as it is sued by music lyrics website Genius for publishing "lifted song lyrics" attained from the latter's site. According to a lawsuit document on CNBC, Genius accuses Google for anti-competitive behaviour that has impacted its business. Genius said in the court filing that Google had continued to "exploit" content misappropriated from Genius’s website while attempting to conceal that misappropriation.

Through this lawsuit, the music lyrics company aims to halt Google's unethical and unfair anti-competitive practices, as well as to recover damages for violations of Genius’s terms of service as a result of Google's misappropriation. Genius provides a platform for music enthusiasts who transcribe music lyrics, and also obtains lyrics through partnerships with artists who provide their lyrics directly to Genius. Genius, in turn, obtains licenses from music publishers permitting the display and distribution of these lyrics. The court document seen by Marketing stated that several Genius users arrive at its website after using a search engine—most typically, Google’s search engine—to find lyrics for a given song.

However, Genius claims that Google has since designed a feature called Information Box that discourages users from seeking another result, and, in many cases, directs them toward other revenue-generating Google products. Google has yet to publicly address this lawsuit.

This is the second lawsuit in two weeks filed against Google for anti-competitive practices. Last week, digital media advertising company Inform alleged that Google thwarted competition on the merits and excluded Inform and other Google competitors from the relevant markets. According to Inform, the result of Google’s “unlawful conduct” has “eviscerated competition” in multiple markets, harmed consumers, degraded consumer choice and consumer privacy, and stifled innovation.

Just yesterday, closer to home, Google said it will be adding on a 6% digital tax charge beginning 1 January 2020 in Malaysia. Currently, the tax charge is applicable to its Google G Suite account holders, which includes apps such as Gmail, Docs, Hangouts, Slides, Drive, and Calendar. According to Google, the amount of service tax charged will be reflected as a separate line in “Transactions” under “Billing and Payments”. It added that consumers’ invoice will show the amount of service tax charged.

When asked if the tax will impact marketing partners, Google’s spokesperson told A+M then that it is unable to get into the specifics, but confirmed that consumers with a billing address in Malaysia will be subjected to the tax.