Sundar Pichai Turns 52: Tracking Google CEO’s Remarkable Journey

Google CEO Sundar Pichai celebrates his 52nd birthday today. Born on June 10, 1972, in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, the Indian-origin tech billionaire graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. He then moved to the US, earning an MS in materials science and engineering from Stanford University. Pichai joined Google in 2004 and was appointed CEO in 2015.

Here’s a look at Pichai’s journey from Madurai to leading Google over the years:

From IIT Kharagpur to University of Pennsylvania

Pichai was born into a Tamil Brahmin family. His mother, Lakshmi, was a stenographer, and his father, Regunatha Pichai, was an electrical engineer at the British conglomerate GEC. He studied metallurgical engineering at IIT-Kharagpur, where he won a silver medal and was awarded a scholarship to study at Stanford University.

He relocated to the US and earned an MS in engineering and materials science from Stanford University. After briefly working for Applied Materials, he completed his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2002.

Sundar Pichai worked at McKinsey before working for Google

Pichai joined Google in 2004 after a brief stint at the consulting firm McKinsey. At Google, he started as head of product management and development. Some of his early projects included the Google Toolbar and the development of the Chrome browser.

In 2008, he was named vice president of product development and was promoted to senior vice president by 2012. Two years later, he was appointed as product chief for Google and the Android smartphone operating system.

Sundar Pichai appointed as Google CEO in 2015

When Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin created Alphabet Inc. in 2015, Pichai was appointed CEO of Google, which was reorganized as a subsidiary. Four years later, he was named CEO of Alphabet after Page stepped down.

Sundar Pichai is a self-proclaimed cricket fan. He has repeatedly expressed his love for the sport. Recently, he shared his excitement over the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said he was excited “to see my favorite sport growing globally,” and wished good luck to all the participating teams.

In a recent interview, Pichai mentioned his favorite dishes from three major Indian cities: in Bangalore, he enjoys Dosa; in Delhi, he prefers Chole Bhature; and in Mumbai, he likes Pav Bhaji.