An IIT Kharagpur alumnus, Sundar Pichai, 40, was on Wednesday named the new head of the Android division of Google, making him one of the most powerful executives at the internet giant. Android is the most widely used smartphone operating system in the world. Pichai, who replaces the architect of Android, Andy Rubin, 50, is from Tamil Nadu. He moved to the US to pursue advanced studies at Stanford and Wharton School of Business.

He joined Google in 2004 and is currently senior vice president of Chrome — the operating system for computers and Web.

The shift in leadership, analysts feel, reflects the “natural confluence” of the two operating systems going forward.