Alphabet's Schmidt to Step Down From Executive Chairman Role

• December 21 2017
• Alistair Barr, Sarah Frier

Google parent Alphabet Inc. said Eric Schmidt is stepping down from his executive chairman role, ending a 17-year run that saw the company grow from a web search engine into an internet giant dominating online advertising and video streaming.

Google parent Alphabet Inc. said Eric Schmidt is stepping down from his executive chairman role, ending a 17-year run that saw the company grow from a web search engine into an internet giant dominating online advertising and video streaming.

Schmidt, 62, will become a technical adviser to Alphabet while continuing to serve as a director, the company said Thursday in a statement. Alphabet expects the board to appoint a non-executive chairman.

Schmidt served as Google’s chief executive officer for 10 years until 2011, when he handed the reins to co-founder Larry Page. He was initially brought in as chairman to add more seasoned leadership to the fast-growing startup, as the "adult supervision" for the 20-somethings then running Google. The company, now the second-largest in the world by market value, has since re-organized into the broader Alphabet holding company, and Schmidt has spent more time representing Google externally and working on his philanthropy. He owns about 1.3 percent of the Mountain View, California-based company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“The Alphabet structure is working well, and Google and the Other Bets are thriving,” Schmidt said in the statement. “In recent years, I’ve been spending a lot of my time on science and technology issues, and philanthropy, and I plan to expand that work.”