Vic Gundotra
Vic Gundotra

Vic Gundotra, the former Microsoft executive who went on to lead Google’s push into social networking with the launch of Google+, is leaving the search giant after eight years with the company.

Google+ has struggled to compete with Facebook’s place in the popular zeitgeist, but its connections to Google’s online services and search engine has made it difficult for companies, in particular, to ignore. Gundotra announced his decision in a post on Google+, appropriately enough, saying complimentary things about Google CEO Larry Page and his team at Google.

“I am excited about what’s next. But this isn’t the day to talk about that,” Gundotra wrote in his farewell post. “This is a day to celebrate the past 8 years. To cry. And smile. And to look forward to the journey yet to come.”

Gundotra’s post coincided with a story on Re/code breaking the news. The site quotes sources saying that VP of engineering David Besbris has been tapped by Page to replace Gundotra as the Google+ leader.

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