Larry Page and ‘Retirement’ 2.0

Hardly a year has gone by in Silicon Valley without a big CEO transition—some rockier than others. Gates, Yang, Jobs, Ellison, Ballmer, Donahoe, Costolo. So why does Larry Page’s decision to hand over the reins of Google as we know it feel so different, so significant?

It’s not just the fact he birthed Google’s algorithm at Stanford University 17 years ago. Or that, at 42 years old, he’s relatively young to be stepping away as CEO of the core business.

It is that the transition itself is so unusual, and yet a blueprint I believe other CEOs will try to follow.