Former Google CEO Schmidt Stepping Down From Alphabet Board

Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google and one of the largest stakeholders in parent company Alphabet, will step down from Alphabet’s board in June, according to Bloomberg.

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. He was the third-largest owner of those shares with 8.6 percent, according to a regulatory filing. Google co-founders Page and Sergey Brin each own more than 40 percent. Diane Greene, a board member since 2012 and the former chief of Google’s cloud-computing unit, will also leave the board, Alphabet said in a statement. Schmidt and Greene agreed to step down during the board’s meeting on April 24, according to a company filing. Schmidt will serve as a technical adviser with a salary of $1.

Alphabet named Robin L. Washington, CFO of Gilead Sciences, as a director. Washington also serves on the board of Honeywell and Salesforce. She has worked at Gilead, a pharmaceutical firm, since 2014. Alphabet has a variety of efforts in biotechnology and health care, including subsidiaries Verily and Calico.

The pair are leaving as the board is under fire for the way it has handled the departure of several former executives. Multiple shareholders have accused the directors of signing off on bonus payments to Andy Rubin, a former Google executive, despite knowledge of credible sexual harassment charges against him. When news of the payouts came out, thousands of Google employees marched out of their offices in protest.