Google is making a major change in corporate governance. In a memo to employees released Thursday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that Prabhakar Raghavan, the senior vice president in charge of search, ads and other key segments, will now take on the role of chief technologist.
“Prabhakar has decided that it is time to take a big leap in his own career,” writes Pichai. “After 12 years of leading teams at Google, he will return to his roots in computer science and take on the role of Google’s chief technologist. In this role, he will work closely with me and Google executives to provide technical leadership and leadership and further develop our culture of technical excellence.”
Raghavan has been responsible for ads and commerce since 2018 and was promoted to head of Google Search and Assistant in 2020. Nick Fox, who was part of Raghavan's leadership team, will replace Raghavan and lead Google's search, ads, geo and commerce divisions. Pichai said Fox helped launch products like Google Fi and RCS Messaging.
Google is also moving some of its other teams. The division responsible for Google's Gemini app, led by Sissie Hsaio, will join Google DeepMind, led by CEO Demis Hassabis. The Google Assistant team will also become part of Google's Platform and Devices team.
The change comes at a crucial time for Google, which has been working to establish itself as a major player in AI. At the same time, Google also has the possibility that the US government will dissolve the company after declaring its search business a monopoly.