document: Google founder hopes to prove he 's ready to lead Larry Page takes over as CEO Mon. , replacing Eric Schmidt , a veteran Silicon Valley executive -LRB- AP -RRB- SAN FRANCISCO - Google co-founder Larry Page is known for his vision , passion and intelligence . Yet there is a fair amount of concern that Page 's other known traits -- his aloofness , rebellious streak and affinity for pursuing wacky ideas -- might lead the company astray . Page takes over as CEO on Monday as fast-rising rivals and tougher regulators threaten Google 's growth . Investors used to Google Inc. '' `` s consistency in exceeding financial targets worry that new leadership will bring more emphasis on long-term projects that take years to pay off . And many people still are n't sure he has enough management skills to steer the Internet 's most powerful company . Page already has learned that smarts alone wo n't make him a great leader . Although Page impressed Google 's early investors with his ingenuity , they still insisted that he step down in 2001 as Google 's first CEO . He turned over the job to Eric Schmidt , a veteran executive who began working in Silicon Valley in the early 1980s while Page was still in grammar school . Gmail Motion : Google 's revolutionary new technology Page 's admirers say that at 38 , he is more mature and less apt to be chronically late to meetings or tune out of conversations that do n't stimulate his intellect -- habits that he fell into during his first stint as CEO . '' `` There are parts of being CEO that do n't fit Larry 's personality , '' '' said Craig Silverstein , the first employee that Page and Google 's other founder , Sergey Brin , hired when they started the company in 1998 . '' `` You wear a lot of different hats when you 're CEO . Some of them are very interesting to Larry and some of them , presumably , are less interesting . '' '' True to his taciturn form , Page has n't said much publicly since Google made its stunning announcement in January that he will replace Schmidt as CEO . Google said Page was n't available for an interview . Page , though , has left little doubt about his top priority : to dissolve the bureaucracy and complacency that accompanied the company 's rapid transformation into a 21st-century empire . Google is expected to end the year with more than 30,000 employees and $ 35 billion in annual revenue . In Page 's mind , the 13-year-old company needs to return to thinking and acting like a feisty startup . Rising Internet stars such as Facebook , Twitter and Groupon , all less than 8 years old , are developing products that could challenge Google and make its dominance of Internet search less lucrative . Page has drawn comparisons to two high-tech geniuses who are even more accomplished : Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs . Like those two pioneers in personal technology , Page invented and cultivated a product that changed the world . But Page has yet to match them in this respect : as CEOs , Gates and Jobs brought out the best in the companies that they created , delighting stockholders as their investments soared . Page does n't fit the CEO mold , even by the standards of Silicon Valley 's free-wheeling culture . He dropped out of graduate school at Stanford to start Google and does n't have a business degree . Science and technology , though , seems to be in his DNA even though he grew up in Michigan , where automobiles rule . His late father , Carl , was a computer scientist and pioneer in artificial intelligence , and his mother taught computer programming . Page began working on personal computers when he was just 6 years old in 1979 , when home computers were a rarity . The geeky impulses carried into his adulthood , leading him to once build an inkjet printer out of Legos . Page relishes challenging the status quo and encourages his employees to do so , too . Those who know Page suspect he picked up the anti-establishment mindset as a boy who attended Montessori schools , which discourage structured curricula and encourage independent activities . Page has wanted to control his own destiny -- and legacy -- since reading a biography of the inventor Nikola Tesla before he was even in high school . Tesla was n't rewarded or widely recognized for his breakthroughs in X-ray , wireless communications and electricity . Page did n't want that to happen to him as an entrepreneur . For that reason , Page embraced the chance to be Google 's CEO when the company started in a rented garage not far from the company 's current headquarters in Mountain View , Calif. . It also helps explain why he and Brin created a separate class of stock with greater voting power so they and Schmidt could remain in charge after the company went public in 2004 . Page 's stake in Google has made him one of the world 's wealthiest people with an estimated fortune of $ 20 billion . Although the contours of his personality and background are known quantities , Page remains an enigmatic figure on Wall Street . To some , he remains best known for uncompromising idealism , reflected in his embrace of his company 's '' `` Do n't Be Evil '' '' motto and his pledge to never cater to investors '' '' desire for ever-rising quarterly earnings at the expense of long-term investments . Page already raised concerns by pushing Google into renewable energy and robotic cars . Those who know him say he has discussed even more far-flung projects behind closed doors . '' `` Sometimes his ideas are just way out there and you 're kind of like , '' `` Wow , that came out of left field , '' '' '' '' said Ethan Anderson , a former Google product manager who now runs Redbeacon , a startup that operates a search engine for finding neighborhood businesses . Uncertainty about whether Page will be as interested as Schmidt in appeasing Wall Street has contributed to a 6 percent drop in Google 's stock price since the CEO change was announced Jan. 20 . The technology-driven Nasdaq index has added 3 percent during that time . BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis does n't believe it 's a coincidence that Google revealed it would hire more than 6,200 employees this year -- a 25 percent boost , and the most in its history -- less than a week after it announced Page 's comeback as CEO . '' `` Do n't be surprised if Google 's spending goes up , even it means its earnings per share might go down , '' '' Gillis said . Page 's supporters believe Google 's current market value of about $ 190 billion will climb even higher under his leadership . That would mirror what happened after Jobs finally got his chance to run Apple in 1997 after a decade in exile . Since then , Apple has brought out the iconic iPod , iPhone and iPad devices and created more than $ 300 billion in shareholder wealth . But the returns of company founders have n't always been triumphant . Consider Yahoo Inc. co-founder Jerry Yang 's second stint as CEO from June 2007 to January 2009 . Yahoo 's stock fell 56 percent during that period , larger than the 41 percent drop for Nasdaq . Unlike the rest of the Nasdaq , Yahoo shares are n't close to rebounding to their June 2007 levels . Hoping to smooth the transition to a new CEO , Google is keeping Schmidt , 55 , in a prominent role as executive chairman and chief liaison with lawmakers and regulators around the world . That 's an important job as Google faces growing scrutiny over its ambitions to use its dominance in search to enter new markets . Brin , 37 , intends to focus on long-term projects , leaving Page to manage Google 's daily operations . '' `` I am quite convinced that this change will result in faster decision-making , better success for the business and ultimately greater value for the shareholders , '' '' Schmidt told The Associated Press after Google announced its shake-up in January . In the past , the three made key decisions by committee , though Schmidt was the one responsible as CEO . Schmidt guided Google through an uninterrupted stretch of prosperity that has topped the performances of other technology trailblazers , including Apple and Microsoft , at similar stages of their corporate lives . Page is better prepared to be CEO after a decade as Schmidt 's apprentice , said Douglas Merrill , who worked with both executives before leaving Google in 2008 as vice president of engineering . '' `` Larry has grown over time , '' '' Merrill said . '' `` He has learned how to make projects work . He has learned how to make sure things happen on time and in a predictable fashion . Larry is a sort of a learning machine . '' ''
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