Everything You Need To Know About Google's New Product Kingpin

Google made some big changes to its executive structure yesterday.

Google CEO Larry Page is going to be stepping back to focus "on the bigger picture," according to Recode, and former Android and Chrome head Sundar Pichai is stepping into a larger role as a result.

Pichai will now be in charge of Google's core products including search, maps, research, Google+, Android, Chrome, infrastructure, commerce and ads, and Google Apps.

It's an impressive portfolio for Pichai, but many are still unfamiliar with Google's new product kingpin, who first joined Google in 2004 and eventually worked his way up to be Page's right-hand man.

Originally from Tamil Nadu, one of India's 29 states, Pichai studied at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, where he received a Bachelor of Technology.

He then received a M.S. from Stanford and obtained an MBA from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. At Wharton, Pichai was honored as a Siebel Scholar and a Palmer Scholar.

Before his first job at Google, Pichai worked at Applied Materials as an engineer and then at McKinsey & Company in management consulting.

In 2004, Pichai joined Google as its vice president of product management, where he led the team working on Google's Chrome browser and operating system.

Pichai quickly began to receive more responsibility, however, taking on involvement with various Google search products including Firefox, Google Toolbar, Desktop Search, Gadgets, and Google Gears and Gadgets.

In September 2008, Pichai oversaw the successful launch of the Chrome web browser, and less than a year later, the web-based Chrome operating system for netbooks and desktop computers.

Pichai added another Google division to his portfolio in 2012 after Google Apps head Dave Girouard departed to start his own company, Upstart.

A year later, Pichai was put in charge of Android after Android co-founder and CEO Andy Rubin stepped down in March 2013.

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

Former Google product manager Chris Beckmann spoke highly of Pichai in a recent Quora post, praising Pichai's ability to helm difficult projects while building a strong team.

"He recruited, mentored, and retained a great team," said Beckmann. "Sundar's team of product managers had a reputation as being among the best of the best, similar to the reputation of the software engineers within Search Quality."

Beckmann also mentioned that Pichai "avoided making enemies" in the midst of Google's workplace politics and "navigated those politics to make his team succesful while inflicting the least possible damage on any other team."

Pichai's impressive track record at Google caused him to be approached by Twitter to potentially lead Product at the social network, but Pichai ultimately declined. In addition to Twitter's interest, Pichai's name was also mentioned as a potential front-runner for the position of Microsoft CEO after Steve Balmer announced his resignation in August 2013.

As Google's new product czar, Pichai will be one of Google's most powerful executives next to CEO Larry Page.