Larry Page Takes Over as Google's CEO

Chloe Albanesius - PC Magazine

Larry Page takes over as CEO of Google today, with Eric Schmidt moving into the role of chairman.

The switch has been several months in the making; the company announced plans for the transition in January. Sergey Brin will continue on as co-founder.

At the time, Schmidt said "Larry, Sergey, and I have been talking for a long time about how best to simplify our management structure and speed up decision making." Going forward, the trio "will continue to discuss the big decisions among the three of us." But January's announcement clarified their individual roles "so there's clear responsibility and accountability at the top of the company," Schmidt said.

Schmidt later said he would "focus wherever I can add the greatest value: externally, on the deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership that are increasingly important given Google's global reach; and internally as an advisor to Larry and Sergey."

Last month, there were rumors he would take that government outreach directly to the cabinet as President Barack Obama's secretary of commerce, but no announcements have been made.

Google did not respond to a request for a comment about Page's move to CEO today, and the new Google chief does not have a presence on social-networking sites like Twitter or Facebook. But according to The Guardian, Page has been planning for the move for the past three months. He has reportedly asked for concise overviews of current projects, toured the company, and requested peoples' undivided attention at meetings. He is also pushing clear strategies for upcoming projects and a focus on data, The Guardian said.

As the paper notes, antitrust issues will also be on Page's mind. Last week, Microsoft formally joined the EU antitrust complaint against Google, accusing the search giant of restricting access to YouTube, content from book publishers, advertiser data, and more.

For more, see 4 Battlefronts for Larry Page's Google and How Will Larry Page Lead Google?