Google's Sundar Pichai tipped in end-stage negotiations for Microsoft CEO position

Google's Senior Vice President of Chrome and Apps, Sundar Pichai, is the forerunner candidate for Microsoft's open CEO position, according to sources who spoke to SiliconANGLE. The source is said to be "close to the hiring team," and claims Microsoft is in active negotiations with Pichai, who is the preferred external candidate.

According to the sources, Pichai is in the "final stages of discussions with the hiring committee," and is said to trump Satya Nadella as the top choice, who was previously reported as a front-running candidate for the position by Bloomberg. No much else is know at the moment, though if it all pans out, official news could perhaps surface soon.

Sundar is currently Google's Senior Vice President of Chrome and Apps, and has been a big proponent behind the company's Android efforts. Both his experience and the high regard for his leadership are cited as reasons for his alleged job offers from competing companies and a hefty retention bonus Google is said to have paid him to stay with the company in the past.

Said Wikibon analyst Dave Vellante to SiliconANGLE, "Microsoft could really move the ball down the field with Sundar Pichai in creating a new open operating system model for cloud, mobile, and social. The market has been looking for a CEO who can balance the role of leading the enterprise transformation while keeping that consumer momentum with xBox and reboot mobile. Pichai is the total package of technology leadership and business acumen."

SOURCE: SiliconANGLE