Eric Schmidt

For other people with similar names, see Eric Schmidt (disambiguation).

Eric Schmidt
Schmidt in 2011
Born
Eric Emerson Schmidt

(1955-04-27) April 27, 1955 (age 69)
Falls Church, Virginia, U.S.
Citizenship
Education
OccupationBusinessman
Years active1983–present
Title
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
​
(m. 1980)​
Children
Scientific career
FieldsComputer engineering
ThesisControlling Large Software Development in a Distributed Environment (1982)
Doctoral advisorBob Fabry
Websiteericschmidt.com

Eric Emerson Schmidt[1] (born April 27, 1955) is an American businessman and former computer engineer who served as the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011 and as the company's executive chairman from 2011 to 2015.[2] He also served as the executive chairman of parent company Alphabet Inc.[3][4][5] from 2015 to 2017,[2] and Technical Advisor at Alphabet from 2017 to 2020.[6] In November 2024, he was 48th richest according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index with an estimated net worth of US$35.4 billion.[7]

As an intern at Bell Labs, Schmidt in 1975 was co-author of Lex,[8][9][10] a software program to generate lexical analysers for the Unix computer operating system. In 1983, he joined Sun Microsystems and worked in various roles. From 1997 to 2001, he was chief executive officer (CEO) of Novell.[11] Schmidt has served on various other boards in academia and industry, including the boards of trustees for Carnegie Mellon University,[12] Apple,[13] Princeton University,[14] and the Mayo Clinic.[15] He also owns a minority stake in the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL).

In 2008, during his tenure as Google's chairman, Schmidt campaigned for Barack Obama,[16] and subsequently became a member of Obama's President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.[17] In the meantime, Schmidt had left Google, and founded philanthropic venture Schmidt Futures, in 2017. Under his tenure, Schmidt Futures provided the compensation for two science-office employees in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Schmidt became the first chair of the U.S. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence in 2018, while keeping shares of Alphabet stock, worth over $5.3 billion in 2019.[18] In October 2021, Schmidt founded the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) and has since served as its chairman.[19] Schmidt had a major influence on the Biden administration's science policy after 2021, especially shaping policies on AI.[20][21] He supports using AI and related technology for military applications by funding startups including Rebellion Defense,[22][23] Istari,[24] and drone company White Stork.[25][26]

  1. ^ "Honorary awards to foreign nationals in 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Eric Schmidt is stepping down as the executive chairman of Alphabet". CNBC. December 21, 2017.
  3. ^ "Google Biography for Dr. Eric Schmidt". Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  4. ^ "Google's Eric Schmidt Talks About How to Run the World (Not That He Wants To)". Los Angeles Times. June 9, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference corona was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Eric Schmidt, who led Google's transformation into a tech giant, has left the company".
  7. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Eric Scmidt". Bloomberg. November 7, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  8. ^ Lesk, M.E.; Schmidt, E. "Lex – A Lexical Analyzer Generator". Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  9. ^ Lesk, M.E.; Schmidt, E. (July 21, 1975). "Lex – A Lexical Analyzer Generator" (PDF). UNIX TIME-SHARING SYSTEM:UNIX PROGRAMMER’S MANUAL (Seventh ed.). bell-labs.com. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  10. ^ Lesk, M.E. (October 1975). "Lex – A Lexical Analyzer Generator". Comp. Sci. Tech. Rep. No. 39. Murray Hill, New Jersey: Bell Laboratories.
  11. ^ "Novell's Schmidt Joins Google at Critical Time". CNET. January 2, 2002. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  12. ^ "Google VP Named CMU Dean". Carnegie Mellon University. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  13. ^ "Dr. Eric Schmidt Resigns from Apple's Board of Directors" (Press release). Apple Inc. August 3, 2009. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  14. ^ "Princeton University Board of Trustees". Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  15. ^ "Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees". Mayo Clinic. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  16. ^ "Google CEO Backs Obama". The Wall Street Journal. October 20, 2008.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference wsjBacksObama was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Thompson, Alex (March 28, 2022). "A Google billionaire's fingerprints are all over Biden's science office". Politico. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023.
  19. ^ Wolfe, Frank (October 5, 2021). "Eric Schmidt to Helm National Artificial Intelligence/Emerging Technologies Project". Defense Daily. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  20. ^ Thompson, Alex. "A Google billionaire's fingerprints are all over Biden's science office". Politico.
  21. ^ Chatterjee, Mohar. "DC's new AI matchmaker: Eric Schmidt". Politico.
  22. ^ Conger, Kate; Metz, Cade. "'I Could Solve Most of Your Problems': Eric Schmidt's Pentagon Offensive". New York Times.
  23. ^ Brewster, Thomas; Emerson, Sarah; Jeans, David. "How Rebellion Defense, The $1 Billion Military AI Startup Hyped By Silicon Valley, Wound Up In A Nosedive". Forbes.
  24. ^ Knight, Will. "Eric Schmidt Is Building the Perfect AI War-Fighting Machine". Wired Business.
  25. ^ Emerson, Sarah; Nieva, Richard. "Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt Is Working On A Secret Military Drone Project". Forbes.
  26. ^ Emerson, Sarah; Nieva, Richard. "Eric Schmidt Is Secretly Testing AI Military Drones In A Wealthy Silicon Valley Suburb". Forbes.