After Larry Page missed Google's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, his health was called into question. For the CEO of Google to miss his own annual meeting was a big deal, and it left the technology community wondering about the health of the thirty-nine year old co-founder of Google. Although co-founder Sergey Brin was in attendance, Larry Page's absence became a burning question since little had been said about his health. Things appeared worse for Page still, after the company explained that he would not be attending other meetings for several weeks. No further information was forthcoming and the situation meant people began to provide their own theories.
Page went ahead and addressed these concerns for himself, in a company email sent on that Thursday. He explained in the email that there was "nothing seriously wrong", and he would continue to run the company. This information comes from a source familiar with the matter and company. Page's time with Google has been varied, for he only returned to the position of Chief Executive last year. In the space of fourteen years, this has been Page's second time as Chief Executive of the company. At the meeting Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt explained that Larry Page had lost his voice and would be unable to contribute for the time being.
As expected, some comparisons were made to Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs, who passed away last October after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Page's situation may not be as extreme, though the comparisons with Jobs are easily drawn and plentiful. Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Herman Leung explained that he had received some calls from investors in Google asking if they should be worried about Page's situation. Leung's response has been that they should be a little worried, though not overly so. In general it has been noted that Larry Page's voice is fairly hoarse, though it was most obvious recently at a speech made in London.
Google's I/O conference, which runs from June 27th through to June 29th will likely not have Page in attendance.
Source: Wall Street Journal
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