Google Says It Can't Afford To Lose Sundar Pichai

Google just can't afford to lose CEO Sundar Pichai, or so it says in parent company Alphabet Inc's Form 10-K financial performance submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

This puts Pichai in the same league as company co-founders Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Alphabet's executive chairman Eric Schmidt.

In the form, Pichai is listed under the "Risks" section which says, "If we were to lose the services of Larry, Sergey, Eric, Sundar, or other key personnel, we may not be bale to execute our business strategy."

Last year, the same section was limited to Page, Brin and Schmidt.

"Our future success depends in a large part upon the continued service of key members of our senior management team. In particular, Larry Page and Sergey Brin are critical to the overall management of Alphabet and its subsidiaries, and they, along with Sundar Pichai, the Chief Executive Officer of Google, play an important role in the development of our technology. Along with our Executive Chairman Eric E. Schmidt, they also play a key role in maintaining our culture and setting our strategic direction. All of our executive officers and key employees are at-will employees, and we do not maintain any key-person life insurance policies. The loss of key personnel could seriously harm our business," the filing explains.

Just a few days ago, it became public knowledge that Pichai had received $183 million in company stock which would vest over the next four years making him the highest paid CEO in the US as well as the recipient of the highest pay package ever doled out by Google to one of its executives.

With Google still responsible for a lion's share of its 2015 formed parent company's revenue, it is no surprise that Pichai is indispensable to the company.