Top Google advertising exec departs

Google's $100 billion digital ad business is coming under new leadership. After more than five years as Google's head of advertising and commerce, Sridhar Ramaswamy is leaving the internet giant to join a VC firm. Prabhakar Raghavan, who currently leads Google's business applications unit, will take over the role, as Bloomberg first reported.

Ad sales bring in, by far, the most revenue for Google and its parent company Alphabet. In the second quarter of this year, Google's total advertising revenue was $28.1 billion, up from $22.7 billion a year ago. Alphabet's total quarterly revenue came to $32.7 billion.

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Raghavan will now be responsible for all product development and engineering related to ads. Meanwhile, ad sales and business partnerships fall under the purview of Google's Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler.

In a statement, Googl e CEO Sundar Pichai praised Raghavan's "incredible management experience" and "deep technical expertise."

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"He is the right person to succeed Sridhar, whose contributions over the past 15 years have helped grow Google into the company it is today," Pichai said.

Raghavan told Bloomberg that his priority is maintaining continuity within the ad businesses. "The ecosystem remains strong. The business remains strong. The team is fantastic," he said. "My focus is on how to take that fantastic machine and keep it going rather than being a bull in a china shop."

Ramaswamy, meanwhile, is joining Greylock Partners as a venture partner.

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