Eric Schmidt leaving as the board is under fire for the way it has handled the departure of several former executives.
Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive officer of Google and one of the largest stakeholders in parent company Alphabet, will step down from Alphabet’s board in June.
Schmidt’s departure leaves the technology giant without one of its most recognizable political advocates as it faces rising scrutiny about its size, data collection practices and influence.
Schmidt, 64, ran Google from 2001 to 2011, overseeing some of the company’s most enduring acquisitions and skyrocketing revenue growth. In 2011, after co-founder Larry Page returned as CEO, Schmidt shifted to executive chairman. He also became Google’s de facto ambassador, handling relationships with politicians and pushing the company’s point of view in prickly global fights that Page and his successor, Sundar Pichai, have mostly shunned.
Schmidt is one of three men who control Alphabet’s Class B shares, which have 10 times the voting rights of regular shares.
