Eric Schmidt shocked the world with his sudden announcement on Thursday night that he would step aside as executive chairman of Google's parent company, Alphabet, though he would remain associated with the global tech giant as an advisor.
The 62-year-old tech tycoon mentor of Googlers said in a statement, "In recent years, I've been spending a lot of my time on science and technology issues, and philanthropy, and I plan to expand that work."
The timing of Schmidt's surprising move has jolted the industry, while the reaction of markets will be known once they are open on Friday morning.
Analysts say that Schmidt's past affairs with women would have cost him the job in line with the ongoing scandal in Hollywood and other fields.
However, Alphabet declined to comment. Here's the tweet by Eric Schmidt:
Eric Schmidt's exit is likely to impact the Larry Page-driven Alphabet team now. Though his association will continue in the guise of "Technical Advisor", the long-term planning will take its toll and many research projects of Google may take the initial hit.
