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Two years in, Sundar Pichai facing his toughest moment as CEO
June 23, 2025
Sundar Pichai was announced as thenew CEO of Googleback on August 23, 2025, just a little over two years ago, after Larry Page and Sergey Brin moved to preside over Google’s parent company,Alphabet Inc. Over the past two years, Pichai has overseen the launch of thePixel smartphone range,rapid Android growth in emerging markets, and cloud computing, to name just a few. Alas, he has also had to deal with Google’s share of controversy and scandal.
So, let’s recap the CEO’s two year tenure as head of the world’s most powerful internet company.
Leading with AI
Sundar Pichai inherited Google in excellent shape, but has made a number of distinctive transitions that has shifted the company’s direction over the past two years. Google has previously moved from search to mobile, but under Pichai there has been an increased focus on “AI first”. This was a note Pichai made a particular point of making at the most recent Google I/O. Almost all of Google’s latest announcements have revolved around AI in some way, from its second generation TPU chips for cloud computing, toimproved imaging algorithmsfor Google Photo and camera improvements, and the steady march into the smart home.
It’s been a gradual transition though, with the introduction of Google Cloud for business all the way back in 2011, which has rapidly expanding under Pichai’s leadership.
Chief among one of Google’s most ambitious plans under Pichai is the launch of its Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones last year – two high-end machines aimed squarely at taking on Apple and Samsung. Google wasn’t a complete stranger to hardware development, having partners with other OEMs for previous releases, but an expensive campaign to establish itself in the flagship tier market was an uncommonly bold move.
While the Android enthusiast crowd was reluctant to see the end of the Nexus line and the subsequent higher price point of the Pixel’s, in the end the range was universally praised and has done plenty to raise Google’s profile in the minds of consumers regarding both smartphone software and hardware. The gamble will perhaps be Google’s biggest win of the past few years, if the company can build on this success with the upcoming Pixel 2.
Google in numbers
This isn’t to say that Google hasn’t had its share of controversy and issues over the same period. The company has continually been in and out of court in the US and Europe for cases ranging frompatent infringementto anti-competitive practices. Just this summer, Google was handed arecord breaking fineby the European Commission for giving its own shopping comparison tool an illegal advantage over the competition, to the tune of €2.42 billion (~$2.7 billion). The company has also had to abandon installing its own search technology as the default option in itsChrome browser in Russia, and has been unable to shift China’s attitude towards its apps and services.
Of course, there’s more to Google than just AI and Pixel phones. Despite the split-up under Alphabet, Google is still responsible for overseeing YouTube, Search , Maps, Apps, Ads, and, of course, Android. There have been a number of changes, trends, and developments made across all of these segments even just over the past year or so. It would be to lengthy to delve into all of these individually, so instead here’s a quick glance at just some of Google’s recent achievements Pichai can attach his name too, to see how things have changed over the past two years.
That’s not mentioning that Google has managed to expand into many new territories over the past few years, with mobile rapidly driving internet and business service growth in India and other countries. Clearly, Google is bigger, more powerful, and more profitable than every before under Pichai.
Pichai’s most testing month
While Sundar Pichai’s time at Google has been a successful one, at least from an external point of view, sailing hasn’t been so smooth inside Google. As the recentJames Damore memoscandal,whistleblowers, and subsequent sexism debate is now revealing.
Silicon Valley has often been seen as particularly sensitive to such seemingly taboo subjects, and Pichai himself condemned parts of the memo as “offensive” and stated that the memo violated Google’s own Code of Conduct. James Damore, the memo’s author, was subsequently fired, a move that arguably caused more controversy than the text itself. Pichai had been scheduled to discuss the issue with all of Google’s 60,000 worldwide employees, but the meeting was cancelled after employee questions and identities were leaked, resulting in harassment and threats to those named.
Regardless of your position on the wider issue, the debate has revealed some troubling cultural problems within Google, with some staff feeling unable to express their opinions for fear of harassment and losing their careers, while others are concerned that the they are unable to work comfortably alongside those with differing views. This is a far cry from the picture the company has often painted of an innovative, open, and relaxed workplace.
The concern that both sides have rightly raised is whether this current culture is going to start hurting Google’s ability to hire the best and brightest, and continue innovating. Pichai’s biggest problem right now is how to solve this cultural divide, rather than simply picking a side.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only high profile sexism case that has made headlines under Pichai’s leadership. In 2016, more than 800 Google employees appended the word Lady to their job titles after an investor addressed a question to “the lady CFO“, Ruth Porat. The “Redefine Women” campaign started by advertising employees Georgia Patch and Kiah Nicholas from Sydney, Australia also caused a stir bycriticising a number Google’s dictionary definitions.
Google is currently also under investigation by the US Department of Labor for “systemic compensation disparities” between male and female employees, following the filing of aDOJ lawsuitback in January. Google denies that it has a gender pay gap, but is now also facing the prospect of aclass action lawsuitfiled by employment law firm Altshuler Berzon LLP on behalf of women currently or formerly employed at Google.
What’s next for Google?
While Google’s efforts in cloud computing, neural networking, and “AI” are already bearing fruit in today’s technology, we’re just at the start of the journey, and these areas are almost certain to be a major part of consumer and business technology in the coming years. Hence why Google has been so keen to make it clear that its future vision doesn’t just lie with mobile. Even though the latest scandal and debate might be framing the headlines we associate with Sundar Pichai today, his final legacy will almost certainly be far more defined by Google’s current and upcoming contributions to the world of tech.
Of course, there’s virtual reality, augmented reality, self driving vehicles, Tango, Project Loon, Fibre, Fi, and various other projects that Google is working on too. Any number of which could end up being a major part of our more connected future.
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