Google has said its co-founder Larry Page will take over as CEO from Eric Schmidt, in a surprise move which signalled that the internet search giant was taking the offensive against fast-moving rivals like Facebook.
Schmidt will step aside on April 4 and make way for Page - who created the company with fellow Stanford University alumnus Sergey Brin in 1998 - to take the reins of a company that has dominated internet search for a decade but is in danger of losing traffic to social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Schmidt, who became CEO in 2001 to bring more management experience to the company, will assume the role of executive chairman.
News of the change came as Google reported a 29% surge in both net profit and net revenue for the fourth quarter of last year, beating analysts' forecasts.
Net profit of $8.75 a share outstripped Wall Street's average forecast of $8.10. Net revenue, excluding fees paid to partner websites, was $6.37 billion.
Google is recruiting and going on an acquisitions spree, aiming to ensure its online products remain popular as surfers turn to new services like Facebook - now the most heavily trafficked website - and wireless gadgets.
On a conference call with analysts, Google CFO Patrick Pichette said a 10% across-the-board pay raise instituted late last year was a direct attempt to staunch a flow of talent to other tech companies .
The question is whether Facebook's success could start to cut into Google's business, as investors debate whether marketers will advertise on both online services, or shift advertising spending from Google to the world's largest social network.
