San Francisco — Google’s parent company Alphabet announced on Thursday that Eric Schmidt would step down as chairman, remaining on the board but shifting into a role as a technical adviser. "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 in a release. Schmidt’s stint as executive chairman is to end at a regularly scheduled board meeting next month, according to Alphabet. Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin recruited the proven businessman and skilled software engineer as CE in 2001, bringing a mature hand to the helm of the then three-year-old internet search company. Schmidt, Page, and Brin were considered a power triumvirate in control of Google. Page replaced Schmidt as CE a decade later, but Schmidt remained at the head of the board of directors. "Eric has provided us with business and engineering expertise and a clear vision about the future of technology," Alphabet ch...
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