Alphabet's Schmidt Hands Reins to Google Founders, Leaders
- Executive Chairman joined as ‘adult supervision’ in early days
- 17-year veteran to remain on board, serve as technical adviser
This article is for subscribers only.
Google parent Alphabet Inc. no longer needs Eric Schmidt’s adult supervision.
After 17 years in senior management, Schmidt is relinquishing his executive chairman role. He was recruited from Novell Inc. when Google had just 200 employees; now it’s a dominant global force in search, online advertising and video. The founders -- in their 20s when Schmidt came aboard -- know how to build it from here. And they have help from newer leaders like Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai, Chief Financial Offer Ruth Porat and cloud head Diane Greene.