More change at Google as Maps-Commerce chief gets new role

(REUTERS) - Google Inc's mapping and commerce chief is stepping down in the latest senior management reshuffle after Android architect Andy Rubin moved on to a still-undefined role at the company on Wednesday.

Google will split its Maps/Geo and Commerce group into two separate units. Senior vice president Jeff Huber, who has led the group since 2011, is moving to Google X, the company's experimental projects group known for developing self-driving cars and the Google Glass wearable computer.

Mr Huber, who has worked on some of Google's "most complicated issues like ads, apps, payments and geo", is "eager to work in a more startup-like environment", the company said in a statement on Thursday.

The Maps/Geo group will be folded into Google's search division, formally called Knowledge and led by senior vice president Alan Eustace, according to a person familiar with the matter.