During an announcement on Thursday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai shared that Prabhakar Raghavan, the executive overseeing the company’s search engine and ads products, is stepping down from his role. Nick Fox, a longtime Google executive, will take over Raghavan’s position while Raghavan transitions to the role of chief technologist.
Pichai mentioned, “Prabhakar has decided it’s time to make a big leap in his own career. After 12 years leading teams across Google, he’ll return to his computer science roots and take on the role of Chief Technologist, Google. In this role, he’ll partner closely with me and Google leads to provide technical direction and leadership and grow our culture of tech excellence.”
Raghavan played a crucial role in the launch of AI products within Gmail such as Smart Reply and Smart Compose. He then oversaw the introduction of AI features in various Google products like Maps and Shopping. Nick Fox, who has been instrumental in Google’s AI product roadmap, will now take on a more prominent role.
In other changes, the Gemini app team led by Sissie Hsiao will join Google DeepMind under Demis Hassabis. This move aims to enhance collaboration and improve efficiency in product development.
Additionally, the Google Assistant team will now be part of Google’s Platforms and Devices team to foster closer integration with the products they are developing.
These organizational changes are part of Google’s efforts to solidify its position as a leader in AI technology amidst ongoing antitrust challenges.
