http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jan/21/google-eric-schmidt-larry-page
(Ex)-CEO Eric Schmidt apparently was the target of an internal coup, and after a series of conversations, decided to gracefully bow out. But I doubt this is the last of the Google high management shakeup, as the company is still faced with numerous investigations and problems, such as series of recent spats with the US federal government in attempts to obtain a contract in a bid for secured email servers for the U.S. Federal Government. (Google claimed that the U.S. Federal Government was biased in favor of Microsoft).
Pointedly, Eric Schmidt’s new job at Google involves him trying to make nice relationship with the governments, and hopefully winning a few more government contracts.
Hmm….
More predictions?
I would say, stay tuned, the fight is just starting.
Allen says
@raventhron2000,
Can you give a link to the post or comment where you talked about this a year ago. This would give readers a better context to comment.
My own take is that Eric’s “departure” (he’s staying on as “advisor”) is that the leadership will be more ideological than even before. We’ll have to see though…
What’s being played out now however probably have nothing to do with the issues we discussed in the context of China. Based on what I am hearing, Google is doing this to become more nimble in responding to Facebook – which has been drawing more network traffic than Google…
raventhorn2000 says
This was my comment on January 29, 2010.
My observation at the time was that I didn’t think Eric Schmidt had much to do with the decision to let the Google lawyer blog openly about the “hacking”.
I think a bunch of other managers in Google ganged up on Schmidt and overruled him. That’s when they let the lawyer blog about it and made a big fuss over it.
And that’s also when Schmidt started to talk about resigning as the CEO. (My guess).
From the looks of it, there weren’t many in the management of Google who backed up Schmidt on that decision. But now that Schmidt is out, there will be plenty of internal struggles yet to come.
The new faction may have gotten their way on China, but that turned out to be a bad one, and they had to send Schmidt out to backtrack on comments a few days later.
And now, they still don’t have a clear direction on many issues, such as China, the EU investigations, the US government contracts.
Larry Page may be just a temporary CEO.
I think David Drummond, the Google head counsel, may become the next more permanent CEO. Considering the highly charged legal disputes at hand for Google, David Drummond may be in the perfect position to make a play for the power seat.
Of course, it would be a power play “show” only. There won’t be much real changes. (That’s what will happen when putting a lawyer in charge).
r v says
Amazing, someone else had the similar idea as I did:
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/23/did-the-china-decision-mark-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-eric-schmidt/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+fortunebrainstormtech+(Fortune+Brainstorm+Tech)
According to close advisors, the Google C.E.O. was upset a year ago when co-founder Larry Page sided with his founding partner, Sergey Brin, to withdraw censored searches from China. Schmidt did not hide his belief that Google should stay in the world’s largest consumer marketplace.
…
Nudged by a board-member friend and an outside advisor that he had to re-energize himself, he decided after Labor Day that he could reboot.
He couldn’t. By the end of the year, he was ready to jump on his own.
Allen says
@r v #3,
orig story: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/01/eric-schmidt-google.html
good take: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/23/did-the-china-decision-mark-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-eric-schmidt