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Google CEO Leaves Post as Company Streamlines Management

Jan 20, 2011  •  Post A Comment

Google announced today that Eric Schmidt will leave his position as CEO, assuming the role of executive chairman, while Google co-founder Larry Page will take over as CEO. The moves are part of a streamlining effort among top management that becomes effective April 4, the company said.

“Eric Schmidt will assume the role of Executive Chairman, focusing externally on deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership–all of which are increasingly important given Google’s global reach,” the company said in a press release.

Schmidt will also act as an adviser to Page and to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who will shift his focus to strategic projects and new products, the company said.

In a statement, Schmidt said of the changes: "We’ve been talking about how best to simplify our management structure and speed up decision making for a long time. By clarifying our individual roles we’ll create clearer responsibility and accountability at the top of the company. In my clear opinion, Larry is ready to lead and I’m excited about working with both him and Sergey for a long time to come."

The announcements were made along with Google’s quarterly and end-of-the-year financial results, with the company reporting revenues of $8.44 billion for the quarter ending Dec. 31–an increase of 26% over fourth quarter 2009.

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