In loco parentis

20 January 2011 By Robert Cyran Follow @rob_cyran

Usually it’s the founders that step aside for professional managers. But Google’s young cofounders did that a decade ago. Eric Schmidt’s adult supervision is no longer needed and Larry Page is ready to run things again. This adds a fresh blueprint for a new crop of geniuses.

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Google announced on Jan. 20 that Chief Executive Eric Schmidt would assume the role of executive chairman and cofounder Larry Page would become CEO. Page is expected to take charge of the company's daytoday operations from April 4.

Sergey Brin, the other Google cofounder, will focus on strategic projects.

"In my clear opinion, Larry is ready to lead and I'm excited about working with both him and Sergey for a long time to come," Schmidt said. Schmidt, who had been appointed as Google chairman in March 2001, succeeded Page as CEO in August of that year, when Page was named president of products.

Google also reported fourthquarter revenue of $8.4 billion, a 26 percent gain from a year earlier. After subtracting traffic acquisition costs of $2.1 billion, net revenue was about $6.3 billion in the quarter. Net income was $2.5 billion, compared to $2 billion in fourth quarter 2009.

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