In a Tweet former Google CEO Eric Schmidt announced a management shake-up at the search giant:
“Day-to-day adult supervision no longer needed!” Schmidt wrote on his Twitter account moments after Google dropped the bombshell that upstaged its fourth-quarter earnings. Schmidt, 55, will still be available to advise Page, 37, and Google’s other 37-year-old founder, Sergey Brin, as the company’s executive chairman. via msnbc
Don’t take it the wrong way. Schmidt seems to be referencing a decade-old interview on Charlie Rose’s PBS show where Page and Brin explain why Schmidt needed to step into the CEO role in the first place.
“Parental supervision, to be honest,” says Brin.
Rose laughs hard, and asks Page, “Do you agree with that – you guys need adult supervision?”
Page: “I don’t know if I’d say need, but it’s really nice to have.”
Rose: “It’s beneficial.”
Page: “Yeah.”
via WSJ
Page actually served as Google CEO for three years before investors insisted a more mature leader was needed. Eric Schmidt had executive experience at Sun Microsystems Inc. and Novell Inc., but didn’t warm up to the task until he’d bonded with Page and Brin. They formed a triumvirate that has taken Google farther than any of them imagined. Now, Schmidt says, “Larry, in my clear opinion, is ready to lead.”
According to Schmidt, now is the time to change the management structure to make it more efficient. They have been equally involved to this point, but Schmidt feels this change will simplify their management structure and speed up decision making.
Schmidt seems to be taking more of a background role, moving into the role of Executive Chairman.
As Executive Chairman, I will focus wherever I can add the greatest value: externally, on the deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership that are increasingly important given Google’s global reach; and internally as an advisor to Larry and Sergey.
Most would agree that Eric Schmidt hasn’t been a CEO in the same sense of a Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg was named Person of the Year by Time and Jobs was named Person of the Year by Financial Times. It’s not that Schmidt has done a poor job (check the earnings report), but it’s possible they felt a clear leader was needed as things start to heat up. Schmidt even admits that “managing the business has become more complicated.”
via Google Blog