Larry Page and Sergey Brin are iconic high impact student entrepreneurs. Page, recently returned to the role of CEO, and has had been questioned by many. Simon Dumenco at Ad Age Mediaworks thinks he might be a great CEO and contrasts Google today with a Facebook under pressure (some from Google+). (I don’t know if I agree with the premise, but I’ll go along for the article and because I like the parts I’ve snipped below). From Ad Age Mediaworks:

Meanwhile, over at Google, Page — who is coming up on his six-month anniversary as Eric Schmidt’s successor — has had laser-like focus on both reviving Google’s entrepreneurial culture and strengthening its core businesses. Early on in his tenure he made social-media integration (that’s the real value of fledgling Google+) a major priority (see also: Google’s announcement at Ad Age’s Digital West conference last week that ads distributed on Google’s Display Ad Network will soon include +1 buttons) along with extending Google’s reach in mobile (see: Google’s gutsy, controversial acquisition of Motorola Mobility, not to mention its launch last week of Google Wallet).

But almost as striking is the extent to which Page has brought clarity to Google in announcing the shutdown of Google Labs, Aardvark, Slide, Fast Flip and other side projects that were offering little or no return on resource investment. Meanwhile, Google has been rolling out subtle, smart user-interface streamlining of its remaining suite of products, from Google Docs to the publishing back-end for Blogger.

Since Page took Google’s reins in April, the pace of change and innovation at the company has been truly breathtaking. Think about it: Is there any tech company other than Apple that is firing on as many cylinders as Page’s Google? Remember that Eric Schmidt was brought onboard as CEO 10 years ago by Google co-founders Page and Sergey Brin to be the “adult” in the room (it’s hard to imagine, but Google was just a toddler — 3 years old — in 2001, and Page and Brin were both just 28). But in less than six months at the reins, Larry Page has shown a level of decisiveness and leadership that I don’t think anybody saw coming from the famously nerdy introvert.

via Is Google’s Larry Page Already Turning Out to Be a Truly Great CEO? | Commentary and analysis from Simon Dumenco – Advertising Age.