Google Inc co-founder Larry Page will take over as CEO from Eric Schmidt, a surprise move to make the company more nimble at a time when competition heats up with fast-growing rivals like Facebook. Page's assumption of day-to-day operations marks a return to Google's technological roots, 13 years after he and fellow Stanford University student Sergey Brin founded what has become the world's No 1 Internet search engine with $29 billion a year in revenue.
"Day-to-day adult supervision no longer needed!" Schmidt tweeted after the announcement. The news came as Google reported earnings and revenue that blew past expectations. While Google has dominated Internet search for a decade, the company has struggled to find its footing in social networking, with a new crop of Web companies such as Facebook and Twitter stealing Web traffic and engineering talent.
"As spending was curbed and order restored over the last few years, some of that Google magic was lost," said Tricia Salinero, managing director of Newforth Partners, a mergers and acquisitions advisory firm, in an email. Schmidt, who will step aside on April 4 and make way for Page, told Reuters in an interview that the change was "not a reaction to competitors."
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