Chief who made Google £550bn firm stands down

ERIC Schmidt is stepping down as the top boss of Google’s parent company after 17 years at the helm.

The 62-year-old helped take Google from a start-up of about 200 people to a technology giant worth £550bn and employing 72,000.

He oversaw its reorganisation into the Alphabet group two years ago, which separated the internet-related business from the other sprawling interests ranging from life sciences to artificial intelligence and airships.

Schmidt, who was executive chairman, stays on Alphabet’s board as an adviser when he steps down next month.

His replacement is likely to be a non-executive chairman. The businessman and former software engineer was brought in in 2001 by founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, after previously being chief executive of a software company that was later bought by UK rival Micro Focus International.

The three of them agreed to stay with the company when it went public three years later, until at least 2024.

Schmidt is now worth about £10.3bn, according to Forbes.

He said he reached his decision after discussions with Page and Brin, and chief executive Sundar Pichai.