Larry Page (b. 1973) is an American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur who, with Sergey Brin, co-founded the search engine company Google in 1998. [1] He served as Google's chief executive during much of its early growth and later became chief executive of its parent holding company, Alphabet Inc. His work on the PageRank algorithm, which ranks web pages by the structure of the links between them, became a foundation of modern web search. [4]
Early life and education
Lawrence Edward Page was born on March 26, 1973, in East Lansing, Michigan. [1] He grew up in a family involved in computing and education and developed an early interest in technology and invention. He attended East Lansing High School and studied at the Interlochen Center for the Arts before enrolling at the University of Michigan, where he earned a bachelor's degree in computer engineering. [1] He then pursued graduate study in computer science at Stanford University. [2]
Founding Google
At Stanford, Page met fellow graduate student Sergey Brin, and the two began a research project examining the mathematical structure of the World Wide Web. [1] Page's approach to ranking web pages by their incoming links produced the PageRank algorithm, which underpinned an experimental search engine the pair initially called "BackRub." [4] They formally incorporated Google in 1998, and the company grew rapidly into one of the most widely used services on the Internet. [2]
Leadership and Alphabet
Page was Google's first chief executive officer and returned to the role in 2011 after a period as president of products. In 2015 he oversaw a corporate reorganization that established Alphabet Inc. as a holding company for Google and its other ventures, and he became Alphabet's chief executive. [2] In December 2019 he stepped down from that position while remaining a board member and controlling shareholder. [3]
Recognition and legacy
Page has received numerous honors for his contributions to computing and technology, including the Marconi Prize and the IEEE Computer Society's Computer Pioneer Award, and he is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. [1] The search technology he helped create reshaped how people locate information online and established him as one of the most influential figures of the Internet era.
