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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Out with the old [nytimes.com], in with the new:

Eric Schmidt, who was brought to Google in 2001 to provide what amounted to adult supervision for the company's young founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, is stepping down as executive chairman [abc.xyz] of the internet search giant's parent, Alphabet, the company said on Thursday.

Mr. Schmidt, who helped take Google public in 2004 and build it into a colossus, will relinquish the executive chairman role at Alphabet's next board meeting, in January. He will continue to be a member of the company's board and become a technical adviser, Alphabet said.

No reason was provided for the change. In a statement, Mr. Schmidt said that he, Mr. Page, Mr. Brin and Sundar Pichai, Google's chief executive, "believe that the time is right in Alphabet's evolution for this transition."

The shift underlines how Mr. Schmidt's influence at Alphabet has waned over time, and especially in the past year, according to people familiar with the company, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the company. Mr. Schmidt is symbolic of an older generation of Google executive. The company has promoted or brought in new executives in recent years, including Mr. Pichai and Ruth Porat, the chief financial officer who was hired from Morgan Stanley.

Also at Reuters [reuters.com].

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