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    Eric Schmidt To Resign As Exec Chair Of Google Parent Alphabet

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments2555 Views
    In this March 8, 2016, file photo, Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet speaks during a press conference ahead of the Google DeepMind Challenge Match in Seoul, South Korea. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

    By Ryan Nakashima, Technology Writer

    MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) --

    Google's one-time "adult supervisor" is getting closer to retirement. Eric Schmidt, who took over as CEO in 2001 three years after investors demanded more mature leadership for the fast-growing tech giant, is stepping down as executive chairman of Google parent Alphabet in January.

    The 62-year-old billionaire will become a technical adviser and will continue to sit on the board of the company that was formed to contain Google and its sprawling so-called "moonshot" subsidiary businesses in 2015.

    Schmidt, a former engineer who held top executive jobs at Sun Microsystems Inc. and Novell Inc., took the reins of the search giant in 2001 from founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who were technically brilliant but were faulted for their management inexperience.

    Page was restored as CEO in 2011, announced in a surprise move as the company reported quarterly earnings. Schmidt at the time said "I believe Larry is ready" to be CEO, adding, "It's time for him to have a shot at running this."

    "The Alphabet structure is working well, and Google and the other bets are thriving," Schmidt said in a statement Thursday. "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."

    The key outlet for that philanthropy has been The Schmidt Family Foundation, founded by Schmidt and his wife Wendy in 2006.

    According to the company's latest proxy filings from April, Schmidt held shares worth about $4.9 billion and maintained 5.6 percent voting control over the company. Page and Brin together control a majority of the votes with shareholdings worth four times as much apiece. A spokeswoman said Schmidt was not selling any shares as part of the transition.

    In October 2015, Google launched a new structure that made Alphabet Inc. the holding company for Google and related businesses. Some of those "other bets" include self-driving cars, smart thermostats and internet-delivering balloons.

    On recent earnings calls, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has addressed investors with CFO Ruth Porat.

     

    Category:News
    Tags:AlphabetEric SchmidtGoogle



    “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” Tops Weekend Box Office

    Sunday, December 22, 2024

    In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures' "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" sped past the Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" to take the top spot at the box office ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters.

    "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates. With strong reviews (86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a high score from audiences (an "A" on CinemaScore), "Sonic 3" is well positioned to be the top choice in cinemas during the busiest moviegoing period of the year.

    It was telling of some wider trends that "Sonic 3" — made for $122 million — bested one of Disney's top properties. Videogame adaptations, once among the most derided movie genres, have emerged as one of the most dependable box office forces in recent years. The two previous "Sonic" movies together grossed more $700 million worldwide and the third installment appears likely to do better than both of them. A fourth "Sonic" movie is already in development.

    "Mufasa," however, was humbled in its opening weekend, with its $35 million in domestic ticket sales coming in notably shy of expectations . The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel even opened wider than "Sonic 3," launching on 4,100 theaters and gobbling up most IMAX screens, compared with 3,761 locations for "Sonic 3."

    Though "Mufasa's" reviews were poor (56% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave it an "A-" CinemaScore.

    "Sonic 3" nearly doubled the haul for "Mufasa," which cost more than $200 million to make. Disney could look to $87.2 million in international sales to help make up the difference. The third "Sonic" will rollout in most overseas markets in the coming weeks.

    In director Jeff... Read More

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