Sundar Pichai outlines qualities for Google’s future CEO

New Delhi: At a recent technology conference, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, offered a rare glimpse into the future leadership of the company, as well as insights into the broader role of artificial intelligence (AI) and his own upbringing in India.

Speaking at Bloomberg’s Tech conference in San Francisco, Pichai was asked what qualities he believed would be essential in the person who may eventually succeed him. While he did not suggest any particular names, he highlighted the importance of focusing on the social responsibility that comes with leading a company whose technologies have far-reaching impact.

“Whoever is running it will have an extraordinary AI companion,” Pichai remarked, pointing towards a future in which artificial intelligence is likely to play an integral role in leadership and strategic decision-making.

Having been at the helm of Google for over ten years, Pichai has not made any indication that he is stepping down. However, his comments reflect how he sees the company evolving and the qualities he believes are necessary to lead it through the next phase.

During the conversation, Pichai also addressed widespread concerns about AI displacing jobs. Rather than seeing artificial intelligence as a threat, he described it as a tool for enhancing human productivity. “I just view this as making engineers dramatically more productive, getting a lot of the mundane aspects out of what they do,” he said. He further noted that Google intends to expand its engineering workforce through 2026, suggesting ongoing investment in both human talent and AI capability.

In a separate interview on the Lex Fridman Podcast, Pichai shared a personal account of his early life in India, offering context to his views on the importance of technology improving everyday lives. He spoke of the difficulties his family faced during periods of water scarcity in Madras (now Chennai), where he grew up.

“We had no running water. You know, it was a massive drought. So they would get water in these trucks, maybe eight buckets per household. So me and my brother, sometimes my mom, we would wait in line, get that,” he recalled.

Pichai said these experiences influenced his outlook and helped shape his belief in technology as a tool for addressing basic human needs and driving societal progress.