Google Appoints Co-Founder Larry Page as CEO

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Google co-founder Larry Page will take over as CEO of the company on April 4, replacing current CEO Eric Schmidt who will assume the role of executive chairman.

The search giant says Schmidt will now focus on external deals, partnerships and customers, as well as broader business relationships, government outreach, and technology thought leadership. He will continue to act as an advisor to both Page and his co-founder Sergey Brin, the company said.

Brin, meanwhile, will now devote his time to strategic projects and new product development.

Commenting on these changes in a press release ahead of the company's earnings call today, Schmidt said, "We've been talking about how best to simplify our management structure and speed up decision making for a long time. By clarifying our individual roles we'll create clearer responsibility and accountability at the top of the company. 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."

Page added, "Eric is a tremendous leader and I have learned innumerable lessons from him. His advice and efforts will be invaluable to me as I start in this new role. Google still has such incredible opportunity - we are only at the beginning and I can't wait to get started."