LEADERSHIP GOOGLE WAS FOUNDED as a company that specialized in Internet search. Over time, it has broadened into other areas from drones, pharmaceuticals and venture capital to advertising, hardware, and even artificial intelligence. Today, Alphabet Inc., formerly known as just plain old Google, has arms that reach far beyond just the worldwide web. The tech giant is separating its moneymaking search and advertising businesses from the other “moonshot” subsidiaries. Alphabet is now the parent entity, and houses several companies, with Google the biggest among them. Under Alphabet, subsidiaries such as Google (the search engine) will be run autonomously, with each being able to focus on its own particular business. This would be a significant shift from the original setup, which had Google as the parent company in charge of a number of diverse verticals. Now, the various businesses will operate independently and be folded into Alphabet, while Google’s stock will also convert into Alphabet stock. Reasons for the change Google co-founder and Alphabet 8 October 2015
Upon announcing the creation of Alphabet, Sundar Pichai was announced as the next CEO of Google (Photo courtesy of Google)
CEO Larry Page claims that the move will allow for cleaner operations and more accountability. Still, some suspect the restructuring was an attempt to please investors annoyed by Google’s wild investments. The split would allow the founders more time to pursue new game-changing technology, while also increasing operational independence between businesses that are unrelated to each other. This will improve focus and