10 things you probably didn’t know about Google CEO Sundar Pichai

Google CEO Sundar Pichai made USD 100.5 million (roughly Rs. 667 crore) in 2015, according to a regulatory filing released. The filing revealed that he was paid a salary of USD 652,500 (Rs 4 crore), awarded restricted stock worth USD 99.8 million (roughly Rs. 662 crore), and given "other" compensation of USD 22,935 (roughly Rs. 15 lakh). He is called a genius in a company that optimises for smart. Here are 10 interesting things about Pichai.

In early 2016, Pichai managed to remain unnoticed on the CES floor and saw multiple products. He even interacted with the demo people who also remained unaware of the fact that they were talking to the CEO of Google.

Pichai, as many know, was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree from IIT Kharagpur, where he met his wife Anjali, who stays with him at Los Altos in California along with their two kids.

He lives in a five-bedroom house, which has a tennis court and an indoor miniature football field. The house may be lavish but for someone who has a package of $200 million, it is unexpectedly modest.

Pichai revealed on Buzzfeed that his grandmother was trapped in a building for four days without any water, electricity or food during the devastating Chennai flood in November.

The Buzzfeed report cites Pichai saying that "he worries his father is still disappointed that he didn't go further in school" as he wanted him to finish his Ph.D.

When Pichai was a kid, he didn't want to become a computer scientist. Instead, like most India boys, he would rather prefer becoming a cricketer. When he visited India, he even played for a bit with some kids.

Pichai got his start at Google in 2004, where he led the product management and innovation efforts for a suite of Google’s client software products, which includes Google Chrome and Chrome OS, as well as being largely responsible for Google Drive. He was also responsible in building the now defunct Google toolbar.

He was also responsible for the web browser extension called Google Toolbar. He then convinced Google CEO Eric Schmidt to build the Chrome browser that led to the Chrome OS and was finally handed over control of Android.

His mother being a great influence for him, Google announced the Internet Saathi initiative wherein rural Indian women could gain internet literacy with the help of bicycles. His mother dropped out of school for economic reasons and he felt that she couldn't help him with his school work due to her incomplete education.

Pichai has developed a real reputation in Google for being well-liked, leading Recode's Kara Swisher to call his recent promotion "a definitive case of nice guys finish first."