Google's Sundar Pichai to replace Page and Brin as CEO of Alphabet

Google's parent company Alphabet announced on Tuesday that the head of the Google division Sundar Pichai will take over from Larry Page and Sergey Brin as CEO of the group.

In addition, it confirmed Brin was stepping down from his role as Alphabet’s president.

It said the pair would remain "actively involved as shareholders and co-founders,” in its statement .

"We’ve never been ones to hold on to management roles when we think there’s a better way to run the company," Page and Brin wrote in a public letter.

"And Alphabet and Google no longer need two CEOs and a president."

Pichai has been Google’s public face for a number of years, and said he was "excited" about Alphabet and its long term focus on tackling challenges through technology.

"I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Larry and Sergey in our new roles," he said.

"Thanks to them, we have a timeless mission, enduring values, and a culture of collaboration and exploration.

"It’s a strong foundation on which we will continue to build"

In their joint statement, Page and Brin said Pichai would brings "humility and a deep passion for technology" to the company's users, partners and our employees.

"He’s worked closely with us for 15 years, through the formation of Alphabet, as CEO of Google, and a member of the Alphabet board of directors.

"He shares our confidence in the value of the Alphabet structure, and the ability it provides us to tackle big challenges through technology."

Alphabet was created through a corporate restructuring of Google in October 2015, to manage ventures outside its main search businesses, known in the company as “other bets”.