Google is undergoing a leadership change as Prabhakar Raghavan, who leads the company’s search and advertising operations, is set to be replaced by Nick Fox, a seasoned executive at the company. This transition was announced by Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai through a blog post, stating that Raghavan will assume the role of chief technologist after having led teams for 12 years. In his new role, Raghavan will continue to report to Pichai and will collaborate with Google leaders to guide technical strategy and foster a culture of technological excellence.
This restructuring is part of Google’s broader strategy to enhance agility in the competitive artificial intelligence sector while addressing several antitrust challenges related to its core business. Nick Fox, who has been with Google since 2003 and has held leadership positions in product design for Google’s Assistant and the ads division, will now lead the Knowledge and Information division, encompassing search, ads, and commerce products.
Pichai noted Fox’s contributions in guiding Google’s AI roadmap and his close collaboration with Raghavan. Raghavan has overseen the knowledge and information unit since 2018 and has recently emphasized the changing market landscape to employees.
Furthermore, Pichai announced that the team working on Google’s Gemini app will become part of Google DeepMind, led by AI chief Demis Hassabis, to enhance product development and deployment. Additionally, teams handling Assistant devices and home experiences will transition to the Platforms and Devices unit to better align with their project areas.
A correction notes an initial inaccuracy, clarifying that Raghavan will not be taking on the role of CTO.
