Google parent company Alphabet Inc has announced the exit of former Google CEO Erick Schmidt from the company’s board, in which he served in the capacity of chairman. Schmidt is expected to step down from the board in June alongside former Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene who had joined the board in 2012.
Chief Financial Officer of Gilead Sciences Inc. (a biotech firm), Robin Washington is set to join the board. Washington has been at Gilead for about 11 years.
These changes come in the wake of a series of scandals regarding the handling of sexual misconduct cases, the management of various execs’ exits – famously the outrage at disgraced exec Andy Rubin’s bonus payment, among other employee grievances at Google. The scandals have led both the board and employees to question the board’s oversight.
Schmidt, who’s been at Google for right about a decade(2001-2011), will remain as technical advisor to Alphabet. For this role he will receive a salary of $1.
Shmidt tweeted, “After 18 years of board (meetings), I’m following coach Bill Campbell’s legacy & helping the next generation of talent to serve.” The late Bill Campbell was a tech executive who is the subject of Schmidt’s new book, “Trillion Dollar Coach.”
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According to Bloomberg, 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 on Tuesday. Google co-founders Page and Sergey Brin each own more than 40 percent.
In 2018, Diana Greene was replaced as Google Cloud Computing Head by Thomas Kurian formerly of Oracle.
Alphabet’s current board chair, John Hennessy, said in a statement, “Eric has made an extraordinary contribution to Google and Alphabet as CEO, Chairman, and Board member. We are extremely grateful for his guidance and leadership over many years.”
