Google CEO names new search and ads boss, slides predecessor to role of chief technologist

Google is replacing Prabhakar Raghavan, the company’s search and ads boss, with longtime Google executive Nick Fox.

The move was announced by Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, who said in a blog post on Thursday that Raghavan will be moving into the role of chief technologist after 12 years of leading teams across the search company. Raghavan will continue to report to Pichai in the new role, the company told CNBC in a statement.

“Prabhakar has decided it’s time to make a big leap in his own career,” Pichai wrote in the post. “In this role, he’ll partner closely with me and Google leads to provide technical direction and leadership and grow our culture of tech excellence.”

The move comes as Google continues to restructure its teams to move more quickly in the artificial intelligence arms race, where it faces increased competition. The company is also dealing with several antitrust lawsuits related to its search and ads business.

Fox has long been a member of Raghavan’s leadership team. He will be leading Google’s Knowledge and Information division, which includes the company’s search, ads and commerce products, Pichai said.

A Google employee since 2003, Fox has been vice president of product and design for the company’s Assistant product in recent years. He previously worked within the company’s ads business unit.

“Over the past few years, Nick has been instrumental in shaping Google’s AI product roadmap and collaborating closely with Prabhakar,” Pichai wrote.

Raghavan has led the knowledge and information unit since 2018. Earlier this year, he told employees to prepare for a different market reality because “things are not like they were 15-20 years ago,” CNBC reported.

Additionally, Pichai announced that the team working on Google’s Gemini app, which includes Google’s AI direct-to-consumer products, will join Google DeepMind under AI head Demis Hassabis.

“Bringing the teams closer together will improve feedback loops, enable fast deployment of our new models in the Gemini app,” Pichai wrote.

The move also means the Assistant teams focused on devices and home experiences will move to the Platforms and Devices unit “so they can sit closer to the product surfaces they’re building for,” Pichai wrote.

Correction: A prior version of this story said Raghavan was becoming CTO. A Google spokesperson said the company was incorrect in offering that information.