Today, Alphabet Inc. announced that the firm"s Eric Schmidt, who is the current Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, would be transitioning to the role of technical advisor at the start of 2018. Schmidt will still continue to serve on the board.
Through the Alphabet website, CEO Larry Page stated:
“Since 2001, Eric has provided us with business and engineering expertise and a clear vision about the future of technology. 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.”
Although Eric Schmidt is better known for his time at Alphabet Inc. and Google, he is quite the veteran of the industry, having previously worked at Bell Labs, Sun Microsystems, and Novell. Schmidt states that he "can’t wait to dive into the latest in science, technology, and philanthropy" through his Twitter account.
While the position will be vacated as of the next board meeting in January 2018, Alphabet Inc. anticipates that it will appoint a non-executive chairman.
Source: Alphabet via The Verge | Image via Eric Schmidt