Eric Schmidt Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
(CNN) — Here is a look at the life of Eric Schmidt, former executive chairman of Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
Personal:
Birth date: April 27, 1955
Birth place: Washington, DC
Birth name: Eric Emerson Schmidt
Father: Wilson Schmidt, a professor
Mother: Ellie Schmidt
Marriage: Wendy Boyle (1980-present)
Children: Sophie and Alison
Education: Princeton University, B.S., 1976; University of California, Berkeley, M.S, 1979 and Ph.D., 1982
Other Facts:
Was a member of President Barack Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Serves on the boards of many organizations, including the Broad Institute and the board of trustees at the Mayo Clinic.
Timeline:
1983-1997 – Works for Sun Microsystems, Inc.
February 1994-March 1997 – Serves as chief technology officer for Sun Microsystems, Inc.
April 7, 1997-2001 – CEO of Novell, Inc.
March 2001 – Is named chairman of Google.
August 2001-April 2011 – Serves as Google CEO. Schmidt receives a $100 million package as outgoing CEO, which marks the first stock-based compensation that he has received since he took over as Google’s CEO in 2001.
2006 – With his wife Wendy, establishes the Schmidt Family Foundation to promote sustainability through environmental preservation, science and education.
2007 – Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as a fellow.
2010 – Co-founds venture capital firm Innovation Endeavours.
April 4, 2011-October 2015 – Executive chairman of the board of directors at Google.
January 7-10, 2013 – Schmidt travels to North Korea with former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson on what is described as a humanitarian mission.
February 4, 2014 – Google reveals that Schmidt will receive $106 million in bonuses based on the search giant’s 2013 performance.
May 4, 2014 – “The New Digital Age: Transforming Nations, Businesses, and Our Lives,” co-written with Jared Cohen, is published.
September 23, 2014 – “How Google Works,” co-written with Jonathon Rosenberg, is published.
August 10, 2015 – Google announces a corporate restructuring, forming an umbrella company called Alphabet and naming a new CEO to the core business of Google. Schmidt will become Alphabet’s executive chairman.
October 2015-December 2017 – Executive chairman of the board of directors of Alphabet.
March 2, 2016 – Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announces that Schmidt is being appointed head of a new Defense Innovation Advisory Board, in an effort by the Pentagon to better address and enhance technology within the Department of Defense.
December 21, 2017 – It is announced that Schmidt is stepping aside as executive chairman of Alphabet. He will remain on the board and continue to serve as a technical adviser.
February 5, 2018 – The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announces that Schmidt will join MIT as a visiting innovation fellow for one year.
January 2019 – Schmidt is selected as chair of the 15-member National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.
April 30, 2019 – Alphabet announces that Schmidt will step down from its board of directors in June.
March 25, 2021 – With his wife Wendy, gives $150 million to the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to launch the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center. The center will focus on the “intersection of data science and life science, aimed at improving human health.”
February 16, 2022 – Schmidt Futures announces the launch of the philanthropic project “AI2050.” With his wife Wendy, Schmidt plans to invest $125 million across a 5 year period towards artificial intelligence research.
January 2024 – Forbes reports that Schmidt is launching a start-up in the US and Ukraine that produces AI drones called White Stork.
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