Sundar Pichai: Indian CEO of Google
His full name is Pichai Sundararajan. He was born on 12 July 1972 in India. This brilliant entrepreneur has been head of leading internet giant Google since 2015. However, he was already working for Google before this date.
Pichai's Childhood in India
Pichai grew up in Madras, India, in a very small and even poverty-stricken home. As a child, she slept with her brother in their rather cramped living room. However, Pichai's father never wanted them to live under these conditions. Their only aim was to get a good education and training. At that time, their father was working as an electrical engineer at the British multinational GEC (General Electric Company).
Pichai, like his father, had a keen interest in technology from an early age. Pichai describes his childhood and youth days: “I grew up without much access to technology. We didn't get our first phone until I was ten. I didn't have regular access to a computer until I came to the United States for my master's degree. When we finally got one TV, there was only one channel. My father spent a year's salary on my plane ticket to the United States so I could get to Stanford. It was my first time on a plane. America was very expensive. A phone call to home was more than $2 a minute, and a backpack was the equivalent of my father's monthly salary in India. The only thing that got me from those conditions to what I am today—outside of luck—was my deep passion for technology and my open-mindedness.”
In one of his speeches, he said: “There is a great simplicity in my life now compared to today's world. I grew up in a modest home. We had to share this house with other tenants. I slept in the living room with my brother. There was a drought when I was growing up and everyone was very worried. This affected me so much as a child that even now I cannot sleep without a glass of water at my bedside.”
In 1993, he received a degree in metallurgy from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He then won a scholarship to study at Stanford University. Here he earned a master's degree in engineering and materials science; He graduated in 1995. So he decided to stay in the United States. His family also came to America.
He worked for a short time at a company called Applied Materials, which was a supplier of semiconductor materials. In 2002, he completed his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. After a brief stint at the management consulting firm McKinsey & Co., he took a job at Google in 2004 as head of product management and development. When he first joined Google, he worked on the Google Toolbar, which allowed users of Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox Web browsers to easily access the Google search engine.
He then took part in the development project of the Google browser Chrome, which was released in 2008. That same year, he was promoted to vice president of product development. Thus, he began to work much more actively. This vice presidency was one of the first steps in which his contribution to Google will continue to grow.
Sundar Pichai was senior vice president at Google in 2012. After exactly two years, he became the product chief of both Google and Android-based phones.
In 2014, he was touted almost everywhere as a possible CEO for Microsoft. But huge financial incentives came into play for him to stay at Google. He was also known to assist in negotiating the $3.2 billion deal Google made to acquire Nest Labs in 2014. Although there were rumors that Pichai would be transferred to another company, this did not happen.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin announced the founding of Alphabet Inc. in August 2015. Pichai also became CEO of Google, which was reorganized as a subsidiary. In December 2019, Alphabet Inc. replaced Larry Page, who resigned. He started working as its CEO.
After his appointment as CEO, it became impossible for Pichai to live away from criticism. Several professionals came under criticism for his decision.
Marriage and Children with Anjali Pichai
Pichai married “Anjali Pichai” after meeting and dating at the Indian Institute of Technology. Again, in one of Pichai's interviews, he says that his wife is a chemical engineer. He also states that his wife joined him shortly after he settled in the United States. Later, Pichai adds that they have a happy life together.