This archive report was first published on 4 December 2019.
On October 2, 2015, Google underwent a corporate restructuring, giving birth to Alphabet Inc., a multinational conglomerate with its headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Fast forward to December 2019, Alphabet's co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, have stepped down as CEO and president, respectively, amidst growing scrutiny of the company's size, data privacy practices, and societal impact.
Regulators and politicians in the US and Europe have questioned Google's dominance, with some even calling for the company to be broken up.
Despite their departure from executive roles, Page and Brin will continue to serve on Alphabet's board of directors and maintain voting control over the business, thanks to their significant shareholdings.
As of April 2019, Page held 26.1% of Alphabet's total voting power, while Brin held 25.25%.
Alphabet's new CEO, Sundar Pichai, will also continue to lead Google, adding to his existing role as Google CEO.
Alphabet's diverse portfolio includes Waymo, a self-driving car technology business, and Verily, a health care software company.
With a market value of over $1 trillion, Alphabet is one of the world's most valuable companies and the fifth-largest technology company by revenue.
