Eric Schmidt Steps Down as Alphabet Executive Chairman

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announced that Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt will be stepping down to take on the role of “technical advisor.”

The Verge reports that Eric Schmidt, Alphabet executive chairman and former Google CEO, will be stepping down from his current role at the company to act as a “technical advisor,” but will still stay on as an Alphabet board member. Schmidt has worked in senior roles at Google since he was hired by Google co-Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page in 2001, Schmidt took to Twitter to announce his stepping down, “After ten years as CEO and seven as Executive Chairman, I can’t wait to dive into the latest in science, technology, and philanthropy. I look forward to working with Larry and Sergey on our future here at Alphabet.”

“Since 2001, Eric has provided us with business and engineering expertise and a clear vision about the future of technology,” said Larry Page, CEO of Alphabet in a statement. “Continuing his 17 years of service to the company, he’ll now be helping us as a technical advisor on science and technology issues. I’m incredibly excited about the progress our companies are making, and about the strong leaders who are driving that innovation.”

“Larry, Sergey, Sundar and I all believe that the time is right in Alphabet’s evolution for this transition. The Alphabet structure is working well, and Google and the Other Bets are thriving,” said Schmidt. “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.”

John Hennessy, Alphabet’s lead independent director stated, “Over 17 years, Eric has been tremendously effective and tireless in guiding our Board, particularly as we restructured from Google to Alphabet. He’ll now be able to bring that same focus and energy to his other passions, while continuing to advise Alphabet.” Alphabet also said in a statement that, “The company anticipates that the Board will appoint a non-executive chairman.”

It was revealed by whistleblowing service WikiLeaks in 2016 that Schmidt worked with the Clinton campaign. An attachment to an email written by Teddy Goff, a former Obama campaign digital director that also worked for the Clinton campaign, appeared to discuss “Working relationships with Google, Facebook, Apple, and other technology companies.” Goff further stated that the Clinton campaign had “begun having discreet conversations with some of these companies.” The memo seemed to have been drafted sometime in October 2014, at least six months prior to Clinton announcing her run for the presidency.

Throughout the memo, Goff repeatedly referred to “Eric Schmidt’s group,” at one point saying, “I have been kept apprised of the work being done by Eric Schmidt’s group and others working directly and indirectly with your team. [emphasis added] On the whole, I am comfortable with where we stand and confident in our roadmap to launch day and beyond.” Schmidt also ran The Groundwork, the technology vendor for Clinton’s campaign.