Top Android man at Google steps aside, another exec switches jobs
Top-level changes at Google this week: Jeff Huber is leaving the mapping and commerce unit to move to Google X, run by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, working on projects such as the self-driving car and Google Glass.
Huber: 'Extraordinary executive
The chief of the Android unit, Andy Rubin, is also stepping aside as head of Google's Android business.
Sundar Pichai, head of the Chrome Web browser , is taking over the Android responsibility, chief executive Larry Page said..
The Wall Street Journal says indications are that Rubin"was not pushed out." Bloomberg speculated,"The move lets Rubin -- whose expertise is building new products from the ground up -- take a stab at another fledgling business at Google, which is seeking new sources of revenue alongside Web advertising."
A Google spokeswoman said of Huber: "Jeff is an extraordinary executive. He just finished his first decade at Google—having worked on some of our most complicated issues like ads, apps, payments and geo—and now he is eager to work in more of a startup-like environment."
Google's core leadership team now drops to to five from seven.
At Google, said the WSJ, the move involving Huber came as less of a surprise than that of Rubin, who is leaving "as Android's momentum continues to accelerate," said insiders.
Recently Huber's unit is said to have been working on a service that would help local businesses deliver products from store shelves to customers' homes within a day or several hours.
He previously worked at eBay .