Ex-Google MD recalls giving Sundar Pichai unsolicited advice on Chromebooks: ‘He knew way more than I did'
Parminder Singh, a former Managing Director at Google and Twitter, shared a light-hearted yet insightful anecdote on X about a chance encounter with
Sundar Pichai
years before he rose to become Google's CEO.
Singh recalled attending a Google office party in Mountain View where he was introduced to 'an unassuming person who led the Chrome project.' Mistaking the humility for lack of knowledge, Singh said he began offering advice on Chrome notebooks, assuming shared tech expertise.
'He listened patiently to my modest suggestions, even asking follow-up questions,' Singh wrote. 'It soon became clear that he knew far more than I did — he was simply being gracious.'
A few years later, Singh was surprised to learn that the man he had casually advised was none other than Sundar Pichai, newly announced as Google's CEO. 'That's the thing about good leaders — they are great listeners,' Singh added.
Reflecting on the moment years later, Singh said he recently listened to Pichai's two-hour interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, joking, 'Balance restored, I guess!'
When a user asked what advice he had given, Singh said he couldn't recall much but believed he suggested making Chrome notebooks 'more fun/playful' for school children and improving language translation tools for native speakers.
Clarifying some confusion caused by the post, Singh added humorously, 'It was a Google 'office' party — Google party is not a new app (since someone asked!).'
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