On Sundar Pichai's Birthday, 5 Little-Known Facts About The Google CEO

The name Sundar Pichai needs little to no introduction. The CEO of tech giant Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc is a fitting example of the saying “the road to success can be found only through hard work”. Mr Pichai's journey from modest beginnings to one of the world's most successful professionals under the age of 50 is truly inspirational. His full name is Pichai Sundararajan but is popularly known as Sundar Pichai. He was born and raised in a middle-class household by his father Raghunath Pichai, who was an electrical engineer at General Electric Company (GEC), and his mother Lakshmi, who was a stenographer.

Here are 5 little-known facts about Mr. Pichai:

1) He has multiple degrees

Mr Pichai studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, where he received a Bachelor of Technology (B Tech) degree. After moving to the United States, he obtained a Master of Science degree from Stanford University and went on to attain an MBA from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

2) He loves to play football and cricket

The soft-spoken CEO loves to play football and cricket in his free time. He also enjoys reading English classics and watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S. "I am a big football fan. I follow football more because it is easier to follow there. I am a big Barcelona and Lionel Messi fan," he once told students at Delhi college SRCC, according to India Today.

3) His first job wasn't at Google

Not a lot of people know that before joining Google in 2004, Mr. Pichai had worked in product management at Applied Materials and in management consulting at McKinsey & Company.

4) He had a love marriage

Sundar Pichai is married to Anjali, whom he has known from his college days. She's a chemical engineer from Kota, Rajasthan. The two were classmates at IIT Kharagpur. The couple has two children

5) He was a contender for the CEO's position at Microsoft

In 2014, Mr Pichai's name was suggested as a contender for the CEO's position at Microsoft along with Satya Nadella. Eventually, Mr Nadella was chosen for the position.

Mr. Pichai became the CEO of Alphabet Inc in December 2019, after Google co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, announced their resignations from their executive positions. They continue to remain co-founders and controlling shareholders at Alphabet Inc.