Google announced a major leadership shuffle as it continues in pursuit of the lead in AI and innovation. Long-time head of search and senior vice president over ads and other important segments, Prabhakar Raghavan, moves into the Chief Technologist role. Here, he will help spearhead technological excellence and strategic direction along with Sundar Pichai, CEO, and other senior executives. The person who played an instrumental role in the growth of Google in the last twelve years of its existence will now "shift back to his computer science roots" to lead the technical evolution of Google.
Following Raghavan, Nick Fox, a veteran Googler and senior VP in a variety of projects, including the development of Google Fi and RCS messaging, is said to take on the task of leading Google's Knowledge & Information (K&I) division. This encompasses Search, Ads, Geo, and Commerce products. For he has enough experience about AI and product strategy, he would be well-positioned to lead Google's core business areas in this AI-driven era.
To do so, Google will also rebalance a part of its research and development teams. The Gemini application team will be folded into Google DeepMind. Thus, AI research and product development will now be aligned in one organization under Sissie Hsaio. The Google Assistant team will now be moving on over to the Platforms & Devices division to keep all the AI-powered home initiatives under one umbrella.