{"id":4364,"date":"2026-04-02T13:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/4364\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T13:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:32:10","slug":"google-ceo-sundar-pichai-named-2026-commencement-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/4364\/","title":{"rendered":"Google CEO Sundar Pichai named 2026 commencement speaker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai M.S. \u201995 will be the commencement speaker<\/a> for Stanford\u2019s graduating class of 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pichai graduated from Stanford with a master\u2019s in materials science and engineering. Since 2015, he has led Google and Alphabet Inc. as CEO and served<\/a> on Alphabet\u2019s board of directors. His recent work has focused on the expansion of AI technologies through products like Gemini and Waymo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSundar is a deeply thoughtful leader who has a vivid sense for how technology can improve society and transform individual lives. He epitomizes what it means for a Stanford graduate to have a broad impact,\u201d University president Jonathan Levin \u201994 told the Stanford Report. \u201cI\u2019m excited to hear his reflections and advice to our graduates as they take the next step into their own futures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pichai started at Google as head of product management and development before going on to serve as CEO.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding a meaningful life, similar to building a world-class company, requires the mindset of running a marathon, not a sprint,\u201d Rishi Jain \u201926 told the Stanford Report on behalf of the six senior class presidents. \u201cWe can think of no better embodiment of that philosophy than our 2026 Commencement speaker and Google and Alphabet CEO, Sundar Pichai.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pichai developed<\/a> a keen appreciation for technology growing up despite limited access in his birthplace of Chennai, India, according to Forbes. He was awarded<\/a> a scholarship to Stanford after earning his undergraduate degree at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). After his time as a student, he worked briefly at management consulting firm McKinsey & Company before beginning his work at Google in 2004.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pichai has emphasized the moment of discovery and entrepreneurship he sees happening in the AI sector and the importance of dreaming big.<\/p>\n

In opening remarks at the recent AI Impact summit in New Delhi, Pichai said<\/a>, \u201cWe have the opportunity to improve lives at a once-in-generation scale. I know we have the capability to do this. And looking at the leaders here today, I believe we also have the will.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a privilege to be invited by President Levin and the student class presidents to address the Stanford Class of 2026 as their commencement speaker,\u201d Pichai wrote in an email to The Daily. \u201cFrom the first time I arrived on campus as a grad student, I knew Stanford was an extraordinary place, and it endures as a world-class center for talent and innovation. I\u2019m excited to celebrate this milestone with the graduates alongside their proud parents, families and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pichai\u2019s keynote address is set to take place<\/a> at the commencement ceremony on June 14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai M.S. \u201995 will be the commencement speaker for Stanford\u2019s graduating class of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4365,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[3916,594,2104,2103,5038,5039,5040,812,5041,5042,5043,5044,315,5045,608,584],"class_list":{"0":"post-4364","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sundar-pichai","8":"tag-address","9":"tag-ai","10":"tag-alphabet","11":"tag-ceo","12":"tag-commencement","13":"tag-commencement-speaker","14":"tag-gemini","15":"tag-google","16":"tag-graduation","17":"tag-jonathan-levin","18":"tag-pichai","19":"tag-speaker","20":"tag-speech","21":"tag-sundar","22":"tag-sundar-pichai","23":"tag-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116335368231105435","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}