Andy Rubin leaves the Android team, Sundar Pichai is the new leader

Larry Page, CEO of Google, just reported on the company's official blog that Andy Rubin is leaving the leadership of the Android team to take on new challenges in the company. Sundar Pichai, responsible for Chrome and Apps, is taking over.

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Sergey and I first heard about Android in 2004, when Andy Rubin came to visit us at Google. He believed that aligning standards around open-source systems would lead to innovations in the mobile industry. Most people thought he was crazy. But his idea immediately took a hit as it was a painful time for the development of mobile services. We had a room with over 100 phones and we were doing software pretty much device by device. It was nearly impossible for us to make great mobile experiences.

Arriving these days. The space for innovation has never been greater, and Android is the most used operating system in the world: we have a global partnership of more than 60 producers; over 750 million activated devices worldwide; and 25 billion apps were downloaded from Google Play. Impressive result for a decade of work. Having exceeded even the most ambitious dreams for Android, with solid team leadership, Andy decided it was time to let go of the reigns and start a new chapter at Google. Andy, more moonshots please!

Going forward, Sundar Pichai will lead Android, in addition to his work with Chrome and Apps. Sundar has a talent for creating products that are technologically excellent and yet easy to use – and he loves a big gamble. Take Chrome as an example. In 2008 everyone was wondering if we really needed another browser. Today Chrome has hundreds of millions of happy users and is growing thanks to its speed, simplicity and security. It's hard to follow Andy's legacy, but I know Sundar will do a great job on Android as we move the ecosystem forward.

Today we are living in a new computing environment. People are excited about technology and spending a lot of money on devices. This led to faster adoption than we could ever have imagined. The Nexus program – co-developed with our partners Asus, HTC, LG and Samsung – has become a guide to industry innovation, and services like Google Now have the potential to truly improve your life. We're close to a world where technology will take care of the heavy lifting – discovery, organization, communication – and you can focus on what makes you happy…living and loving. It's a wonderful time to be at Google.

By Larry Page, CEO

Source: Google Official Blog