6 ms·

Sundar has been leading Google for a few years now. Larry/Sergey have been out and about for a while now. I am a Xoogler myself.

by hcnews 7y ago

cletus 7y ago
Yes and no. Sundar has no more vision than Larry does yet somehow is paid $200m+ a year and in my mind is the most unjustifiably overpaid CEO by a huge margin. At least Larry founded the company and contributed to turning into the behemoth it is. Sunday is a random associate product manager who somehow managed to ride the wave of Chrome to somehow becoming CEO.
- sah2ed 7y ago
  > Sundar has no more vision than Larry does yet somehow is paid $200m+ a year and in my mind is the most unjustifiably overpaid CEO by a huge margin. Do you have a source for this? My understanding is that this $200m figure is a multi-year figure to keep him at Google. I wouldn’t characterize him as random though. Larry seemed to like him because he is able to handle conflict very well.
  - cletus 7y ago
    https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-alphabet-paid-google-ceo-sundar-pichai-200m-in-2016-2017-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-alphabet-paid-google-ceo-...
    - behindsight 7y ago
      > The stock that Pichai received will vest in quarterly increments through January 2020 Seems like multi-year (2016-2020), not annually.
  - gerash 7y ago
    It is hard to accurately judge how the CEO is doing as most us are not privy to what he has to deal with in his job. That said, to me he seems uninspiring, dodging questions and without much background in Computers. In some ways arguably similar to Steve Ballmer.
  - nloladze 7y ago
    Just like Presidents, you cannot judge a CEO's job till the aftermath. That and after only deep introspection. Few cases bar exception, i.e. Steve Balmer.
- papln 7y ago
  Under your theory, Steve Jobs still runs Apple.
  - brian_herman__ 7y ago
    Now you are comparing Apples to Lemons.
  - arcticbull 7y ago
    Depending on how much product roadmap he set before he shuffled off the mortal coil, he may well be.
- rodgerd 7y ago
  > Sunday is a random associate product manager who somehow managed to ride the wave of Chrome to somehow becoming CEO. Chrome has monopolized not just the Internet[1], but is in the process of monopolising desktop dev thanks to the success of Electron. Of course those are good credentials to end up in charge of Google. [1] As far as most people are concerned, their browser is the Internet.
  - aerique 7y ago
    I have no idea why you are downvoted.
    - rodgerd 7y ago
      Anything less than violent enthusiasm about Google leveraging their Chrome monopoly tends to go down badly here.
- oarabbus_ 7y ago
  Nadella seems much more capable as a visionary than Pichai
- vmurthy 7y ago
  > Sunday (sic) is a random associate product manager who somehow managed to ride the wave of Chrome to somehow becoming CEO I'd be more careful about dismissing him as a random APM who "somehow managed to ride the wave of Chrome". Successes like these aren't wholly random and while there is certainly an amount of luck involved, you need to remember that Chrome is/was a crazy essential thing for Google's success before the smartphone/Android revolution. It is more about not giving up the entry point to search (browser on PC -- mobiles weren't dominant in 2008) to a competitor (MS) who could stifle or charge a steep price to let it be the default search. If you need any more data on this, read up on how much Google pays Apple to be the default search engine ($5B a year IIRC). So... Sundar's CEO status may or may not have been the best choice but don't discount years of work and navigating inside a behemoth like Google and getting st done :)
swader999 7y ago
I'm on the outside but always had the impression Eric Schmidt was calling most of the "do evil" important things.
- etaioinshrdlu 7y ago
  I don't really have any special evidence to the contrary, but I suspect Schmidt gets a bad rap simply because of his appearance and demeanor of looking a bit stodgy like a bureaucrat from the federal Gov or something. He also has a very serious face. I think he was basically a competent CEO who steered the company away from risky businesses.
  - heymijo 7y ago
    Every Andrew Carnegie needs his Henry Frick [0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_strike#Plans_of_Carnegie_and_Frick https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_strike#Plans_of_Carn...

Sundar has been leading Google for a few years now. Larry/Sergey have been out and about for a while now. I am a Xoogler myself.

by hcnews 7y ago

Sundar has been leading Google for a few years now. Larry/Sergey have been out and about for a while now. I am a Xoogler myself.

cletus 7y ago

Yes and no. Sundar has no more vision than Larry does yet somehow is paid $200m+ a year and in my mind is the most unjustifiably overpaid CEO by a huge margin. At least Larry founded the company and contributed to turning into the behemoth it is. Sunday is a random associate product manager who somehow managed to ride the wave of Chrome to somehow becoming CEO.

sah2ed 7y ago
> Sundar has no more vision than Larry does yet somehow is paid $200m+ a year and in my mind is the most unjustifiably overpaid CEO by a huge margin. Do you have a source for this? My understanding is that this $200m figure is a multi-year figure to keep him at Google. I wouldn’t characterize him as random though. Larry seemed to like him because he is able to handle conflict very well.
- cletus 7y ago
  https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-alphabet-paid-google-ceo-sundar-pichai-200m-in-2016-2017-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-alphabet-paid-google-ceo-...
  - behindsight 7y ago
    > The stock that Pichai received will vest in quarterly increments through January 2020 Seems like multi-year (2016-2020), not annually.
- gerash 7y ago
  It is hard to accurately judge how the CEO is doing as most us are not privy to what he has to deal with in his job. That said, to me he seems uninspiring, dodging questions and without much background in Computers. In some ways arguably similar to Steve Ballmer.
- nloladze 7y ago
  Just like Presidents, you cannot judge a CEO's job till the aftermath. That and after only deep introspection. Few cases bar exception, i.e. Steve Balmer.
papln 7y ago
Under your theory, Steve Jobs still runs Apple.
- brian_herman__ 7y ago
  Now you are comparing Apples to Lemons.
- arcticbull 7y ago
  Depending on how much product roadmap he set before he shuffled off the mortal coil, he may well be.
rodgerd 7y ago
> Sunday is a random associate product manager who somehow managed to ride the wave of Chrome to somehow becoming CEO. Chrome has monopolized not just the Internet[1], but is in the process of monopolising desktop dev thanks to the success of Electron. Of course those are good credentials to end up in charge of Google. [1] As far as most people are concerned, their browser is the Internet.
- aerique 7y ago
  I have no idea why you are downvoted.
  - rodgerd 7y ago
    Anything less than violent enthusiasm about Google leveraging their Chrome monopoly tends to go down badly here.
oarabbus_ 7y ago
Nadella seems much more capable as a visionary than Pichai
vmurthy 7y ago
> Sunday (sic) is a random associate product manager who somehow managed to ride the wave of Chrome to somehow becoming CEO I'd be more careful about dismissing him as a random APM who "somehow managed to ride the wave of Chrome". Successes like these aren't wholly random and while there is certainly an amount of luck involved, you need to remember that Chrome is/was a crazy essential thing for Google's success before the smartphone/Android revolution. It is more about not giving up the entry point to search (browser on PC -- mobiles weren't dominant in 2008) to a competitor (MS) who could stifle or charge a steep price to let it be the default search. If you need any more data on this, read up on how much Google pays Apple to be the default search engine ($5B a year IIRC). So... Sundar's CEO status may or may not have been the best choice but don't discount years of work and navigating inside a behemoth like Google and getting st done :)

swader999 7y ago

I'm on the outside but always had the impression Eric Schmidt was calling most of the "do evil" important things.

etaioinshrdlu 7y ago
I don't really have any special evidence to the contrary, but I suspect Schmidt gets a bad rap simply because of his appearance and demeanor of looking a bit stodgy like a bureaucrat from the federal Gov or something. He also has a very serious face. I think he was basically a competent CEO who steered the company away from risky businesses.
- heymijo 7y ago
  Every Andrew Carnegie needs his Henry Frick [0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_strike#Plans_of_Carnegie_and_Frick https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_strike#Plans_of_Carn...