Google CEO Sundar Pichai has announced the promotion of Indian-American Prabhakar Raghavan to serve in the role of Chief Technologist.
In a memo released on October 18, 2024, Pichai emphasized that artificial intelligence is advancing at an unprecedented pace. To continue accelerating progress, Google has been streamlining its organizational structure, including the establishment of Google DeepMind and the integration of the Platforms & Devices teams.
“In parallel to this, Prabhakar has decided it’s time to make a big leap in his own career. After 12 years leading teams across Google, he’ll return to his computer science roots and take on the role of Chief Technologist, Google,” added Pichai. “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 memo also mentioned that Nick Fox, a longtime Googler and a member of Raghavan’s leadership team, will take on the role of leading K&I, overseeing Search, Ads, Geo, and Commerce products.
“Prabhakar’s leadership journey at Google has been remarkable, spanning Research, Workspace, Ads, and K&I. He led the Gmail team in launching Smart Reply and Smart Compose as early examples of using AI to improve products and took Gmail and Drive past 1 billion users,” the memo stated highlighting Raghavan’s work at Google.
The memo highlights the significant growth and innovation achieved by Raghavan and his team across K&I. It said, they launched AI Overviews, a major advancement in Search used by hundreds of millions globally, and introduced new features like Circle to Search, video understanding, and “shop what you see” in Lens.
According to the memo, AI has also transformed Maps and Shopping with immersive view and virtual try-on. In Ads, AI-powered ad formats and streamlined campaign management have made real progress, with ongoing innovation through Performance Max to support millions of businesses.
“I’m so grateful to Prabhakar for the strong foundation and leadership bench he’s built across K&I. That includes his incredible senior leaders and Nick who is ready to hit the ground running in his new role as SVP of K&I,” he added.
Pichai highlighted how, in recent years, Fox has played a pivotal role in shaping Google’s AI product roadmap, working closely with Raghavan and his leadership team on K&I’s strategy. He praised both Fox and Raghavan for their leadership during various technological transformations and for laying a solid foundation for the future.
Raghavan who has a Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, earned his Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.
