• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

2

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

3

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

1

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

2

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

3

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Tech Visionaries

Larry Page’s report card one week in

By
Seth Weintraub
Seth Weintraub
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Seth Weintraub
Seth Weintraub
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 11, 2011, 11:03 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The New/Old Google CEO made some important moves in his first week.



Co-Founder Larry Page took back the helm of Google(GOOG) a week ago and has made some bold moves over the past week. Let’s take a look at what has transpired and what’s likely to come.

Within 24 hours of taking control, Google announced it was seeking to buy up Nortel patents, which would put it on more equal footing in the Wireless space. Google’s Android OS has outgrown the company’s patent portfolio and the other industry titans are now taking aim at Google in the courtroom. Google’s opening offer was $900 million (and by putting that out there, Google gets a reward if it is outbid).

This is a good move. Patent questions are still one of the biggest uncertainties in the Android ecosystem and having a portfolio that matches those who wish to attack will help those who work with Android sleep at night.

Day Two: Product Chief Jonathan Rosenberg was shown the door after almost a decade with the company. His departure is associated with Page’s desire to streamline the company and cut out some management fat. Rosenberg was brought in as one of Eric Schmidt’s first significant hires and is seen as an early management mentor to Google’s current ruling class. His plans to help write a book with former CEO Eric Schmidt on Google management shows that Rosenberg was clearly aligned with the former CEO.

Day Three: Google announced its earnings call which would be the first in Page’s era (Google wasn’t public in his first CEO tenure). Who will join CFO Patrick Pichette? With Schmidt and Rosenberg gone, it will be a good time for Larry Page to make an appearance and set the direction for the company, at least in the eyes of investors.

Day Four: Page ties employee bonuses to Social. Probably the clumsiest move so far, the PR spin from this move has been bad. Long term, the move may not be such a bad idea. Google employees have been departing to Facebook and other social startups for real and perceived riches. Now, to a much smaller extent, they have some monetary motivation to work on social at Google.

At the very least, it puts social on the minds of Google’s brainy 20,000-plus workforce.

Day Five: The Google-ITA deal got pushed through and both sides somehow seem to be trumpeting it as a success. Google must let the Fairsearch.org members have access to ITA software and even more interesting, must invite Government regulators to evaluate Google’s competitiveness on a yearly basis.

This is a big wild card as government intervention and competitiveness claims arise both in the US and the E.U.

Day Six: YouTube announces YouTube Live streaming. This is a big deal for news, events and sports coverage. Ustream and other sites have popularized services like this for awhile but YouTube’s entry into this space will be a big deal for new types of content. Couple that with the $100 million Google is funneling into original content and you could theoretically call YouTube its own network at this point.

And just under the wire this weekend, Shona Brown, was demoted to overseeing the Google.org business. She was last week, number five on Google’s exec list which is a huge blow. Now, CFO Patrick Pichette, will be taking over HR and BizOpps. The fate of Lazlo Bock, Google’s VP of HR is in question – he likely will report to Pichette.

So now Google has a new Org structure, though as of this writing the old one is still on Google’s website. Interestingly, Page has seven direct reports now, the scientific number of things that humans can focus on at once.

The executives promoted to senior vice president include Salar Kamangar, who leads YouTube; Andy Rubin, chief of Android; Sundar Pichai, head of the Chrome Web browser and operating system; and Vic Gundotra, who is in charge of the company’s social-networking initiatives, said a person familiar with the matter.

Three current senior vice presidents—Susan Wojcicki, who leads advertising-product initiatives; Jeff Huber, an engineering executive; and Alan Eustace, who led engineering and research—will become heads of ads, commerce and local, and Web search, respectively, the person said.

So far, I’d say Page is taking care of business though the long term consequences are still unknown. Just today, it was revealed that rival Facebook is going to be teaming up with search rival Baidu in China for a social network. Perhaps Page should get friendly with Tencent, the current leader in Social in China.

That’s for week two.

We’ll find out more about Google’s plans at the earning’s call on Thursday.

About the Author
By Seth Weintraub
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Getting past the pilot: Why so many AI test projects have trouble scaling
SuccessBrainstorm Tech
Getting past the pilot: Why so many AI test projects have trouble scaling
By Alexei OreskovicJune 24, 2026
6 hours ago
US says chemical maker Chemours will pay $450M in penalties and relief programs to three states to settle ‘forever chemicals’ case
EnvironmentEnvironment
US says chemical maker Chemours will pay $450M in penalties and relief programs to three states to settle ‘forever chemicals’ case
By The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
7 hours ago
A Viking ship named Havhingsten af Glendalough - the Sea Stallion of Glendalough -, the world's largest replica of a Viking warship, sets out 01 JUly 2007 from the Viking Museum in Roskilde, Denmark, on a voyage to Dublin in Ireland, where it is scheduled to arrive 14 August.
EuropeScience
1,000-year-old massive textile factory unearthed in Denmark—and it belonged to the Vikings
By James Brooks and The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
7 hours ago
‘Godmother of AI’ and tech entrepreneurs draw investors by pivoting from chatbots to ‘world models’ saying AI has to read the room, not just books
AIRobots
‘Godmother of AI’ and tech entrepreneurs draw investors by pivoting from chatbots to ‘world models’ saying AI has to read the room, not just books
By The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
7 hours ago
Trump’s Iran war provoked the Senate enough to get it to symbolically vote to curb his war powers for the first time
PoliticsDonald Trump
Trump’s Iran war provoked the Senate enough to get it to symbolically vote to curb his war powers for the first time
By The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
7 hours ago
‘We are in agony’: Today Show host Savannah Guthrie begs public for help as reports surface her missing 84-year-old mom might be dead
North AmericaMedia
‘We are in agony’: Today Show host Savannah Guthrie begs public for help as reports surface her missing 84-year-old mom might be dead
By The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
Economy
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
22 hours ago
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
2 days ago
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Success
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
21 hours ago
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
Retail
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
14 hours ago
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
Asia
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
15 hours ago
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 23, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.