Short answer: Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, handles industry challenges by combining clear (and sometimes tough) operational decisions, a repeated emphasis on AI and long‑term product bets, frequent internal communication, regulatory and public engagement, and organizational restructuring to boost speed and efficiency. (As of Oct 3, 2025 Sundar Pichai is Alphabet/Google’s CEO.) (CNBC.com)

What that looks like in practice

• Prioritizing AI and long‑term bets: Pichai repeatedly frames artificial intelligence as Google’s central strategic priority and pushes investment in products (Gemini, DeepMind integration, Waymo, cloud AI) to compete in the sector. (BusinessToday.in)
• Tough operational moves to create capacity: To free resources for those priorities he has overseen and signalled more workforce reductions, role reallocations, manager cuts, and team eliminations aimed at improving velocity and cutting costs. (businessinsider.com)
• Direct internal communication and accountability: He uses memos and all‑hands meetings to set priorities, warn staff about tradeoffs, and explain “tough choices” while sometimes acknowledging the morale impact and that the company could have handled things differently. (CNBC.com)
• Engaging regulators and the public: Under his leadership Google has been active in public testimony, legal defenses and policy discussions as it faces heightened regulatory scrutiny worldwide; he signals the company will defend its businesses while adapting to new rules. (CNBC.com)
• Balancing short‑term discipline with long‑term innovation: Pichai stresses efficiency and headcount discipline in the near term while continuing to back moonshot and growth areas (YouTube, cloud, autonomous, quantum) that he sees as future opportunities. (TechCrunch.com)

Tone and leadership style

• Cautious, pragmatic, product‑focused: He emphasizes product delivery, user problems, and engineering execution rather than publicity stunts.
• Willing to admit mistakes: He has publicly acknowledged the negative morale effects of layoffs and said some actions could have been handled differently. (BusinessToday.in)

If you want, I can:

• Pull recent (past 30/90 days) headlines about specific actions Pichai has taken (layoffs, product launches, regulatory moves) and link to them.
• Summarize one or two of his recent all‑hands memos or public speeches with direct quotes and dates.