Google Plus creator Vic Gundotra quits

Vic Gundotra, senior vice president (engineering) at Google and the creator of its social network Google Plus, has announced his departure after spending almost eight years at the company. He will be replaced by Google's VP of engineering, David Besbris.

"Today I'm announcing my departure from Google after almost eight years," Gundotra said in a post on his Google Plus profile. "...Now is the time for a new journey, a continuation. I am excited about what's next. But this isn't the day to talk about that. This is a day to celebrate the past eight years."

"I'm overwhelmed when I think about the leadership of Larry Page and what he empowered me to do while at Google. From starting Google I/O, to being responsible for all mobile applications, to creating Google+, none of this would have happened without Larry's encouragement and support," he added.

An IIT Madras alumnus, Gundotra joined Google in 2007. Prior to that, he was a general manager at Microsoft. He joined Microsoft in 1991 and eventually became its GM for platform evangelism.

Many Indian-origin executives have held or are holding key management positions at Google. This list includes its incumbent chief business officer Nikesh Arora, besides three of the seven senior leaders (before Gundotra's departure) in the firm, including Sridhar Ramaswamy, senior VP for ads and commerce; and Sundar Pichai, senior VP for Android, Chrome and apps.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)