Is Alphabet's New CEO Sundar Pichai Ready for What's to Come?

To call it the end of an era might be hyperbole. In fact, most investors won't initially even notice Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) has a new CEO. But, Sundar Pichai -- previously the head of all things Google but still subject to company founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin -- will now be in charge of the whole shebang. That adds Alphabet's non-Google ventures like Waymo and a handful of healthcare projects to his plate, but more importantly, it puts Pichai completely in the proverbial hot seat. He's taking the whole helm at a time when Alphabet is already being forced to reinvent itself.

The new Google may end up being a kinder and gentler company to appease regulators, but that's not necessarily good news for shareholders.

Pichai publicly states he is a fan of online privacy, for the record. Just a few months ago (and not for the first time), Alphabet's new CEO explained in no uncertain terms that online, digital privacy was not a mere "luxury good" meant for those who could pay for it. It's not clear, however, that Pichai has been able to completely commit to the idea just yet. In November, the Department of Health and Human Services opened a probe into Alphabet's gathering of healthcare data from millions of Americans. The purpose and nature of the data gathering remain unknown, which clearly poses a moral hazard.

Source Fool.com