Google sent shockwaves through the tech industry today with the announcement that longtime CEO Eric Schmidt was stepping down from his position, with Google co-founder Larry Page as his replacement. In an effort to simplify management structure, Schmidt will now serve in the role of Executive Chairman. Page’s co-founder Sergey Brin will simply take the title Co-Founder and remain working on behind-the-scenes innovation for the company.
During Schmidt’s 10 year tenure as Google CEO, the company grew from a little known search tool to one of, if not the most, powerful leaders in the Internet industry. The company turns billions of dollars in profits each year, boasts thousands of employees worldwide, and continues to maintain an influential voice in tech policy at all levels of government.
What effect Schmidt’s departure as CEO will have on the company is still unknown, though I’m sure many very smart people are already digging deep to offer analysis of the decision and its potential impact on Google’s future. One thing we can know for sure, however, is that few people have been as influential in the debate over privacy and Internet technology than Eric Schmidt.
As a proper send-off for Schmidt, we wanted to share this interesting post from John Paczkowski at All Things D. Cleverly titled “Talking Schmidt,” the article recounts some of Schmidt’s influential decisions and philosophies in his own words, including some of his faux-pas on the subject of privacy. We hope you enjoy that link, and we wish Eric Schmidt the best in his new position as Executive Chairman.
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