Schmidt stepping down

The New York Post reports,

Eric Schmidt shocked Silicon Valley with a surprise announcement Thursday that he’s stepping down as executive chairman of Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

The 62-year-old tech tycoon — who, according to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, was originally tapped as CEO in 2001 to provide “adult supervision” for himself and Larry Page — said in a statement that he will remain at Alphabet as a “technical advisor.”

“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 said.

One source close to Schmidt said the move would allow him to have a more “hands-on role” in developing artificial intelligence for defense.

Schmidt has also been spending more time on his foundation, which focuses on sustainability, the source said.

But the timing of Schmidt’s sudden move — along with the fact that Alphabet waited three days to disclose that Schmidt had told the company he was stepping down, according to a filing — raised questions.

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