In 2001, as it started to be apparent that the search engine they had invented as graduate students was becoming a powerful, global company, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin decided they needed to recruit a more seasoned pro to be CEO. Their choice was Eric Schmidt, a computer scientist and Silicon Valley veteran who was then the chief of Novell.

Since joining Google, Mr Schmidt has been one of the troika guiding the company in its transition from start-up to international behemoth, including its controversial, but ultimately highly successful, IPO in 2004. There have been growing pains. Google's leaders worry about maintaining an entrepreneurial and free-wheeling culture as the company becomes bigger and more established. Size also has brought increased, and sometimes suspicious, scrutiny from governments around the world.