After six years as executive chairman of Alphabet – the parent company of technology giant Google – Eric Schmidt announced in a press release today that he will step down, taking on the role of technical advisor at the company and remaining on its board.
In the press release, Schmidt notes that, “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.”
Schmidt served as CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011, and remained with the company as executive chairman during the restructuring that formed Alphabet. At the present time, it is unclear what responsibilities his new role brings.
Alphabet expects its board of directors to appoint a non-executive chairman.