Andy Rubin, the creator of the Android operating system, has announced that he is resigning as the head of the Android team at Google.
On Google’s official blog, chief executive Larry Page announced Rubin is set to take another role within the search engine and smartphone giant, while Chrome head Sundar Pichai takes Rubin’s position.
“Having exceeded even the crazy ambitious goals we dreamed of for Android – and with a really strong leadership team in place – Andy’s decided it’s time to hand over the reins and start a new chapter at Google,” Page says.
“Going forward, Sundar Pichai will lead Android, in addition to his existing work with Chrome and Apps. Sundar has a talent for creating products that are technically excellent yet easy to use.”
Page also describes how Rubin, who was previously a founder of Hiptop maker Danger, first pitched for Google’s involvement in the Android project back in 2004, three years before the release of Apple’s first iPhone.
“Sergey [Brin] and I first heard about Android back in 2004, when Andy Rubin came to visit us at Google. He believed that aligning standards around an open-source operating system would drive innovation across the mobile industry.
“Most people thought he was nuts. But his insight immediately struck a chord because at the time it was extremely painful developing services for mobile devices.”
Rubin announced the news in a letter to his colleagues, which has been republished in full by the Wall Street Journal.
“As for me, I am an entrepreneur at heart and now is the right time for me to start a new chapter within Google. I am amazed by what we have accomplished from those early days (not so long ago!), and remain passionate about the power of a simple idea and a shared goal – an open source platform freely available to everyone – to transform computing for people everywhere,” Rubin says.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
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