Eric Schmidt, who helped build Google into a US$741billion behemoth, is stepping down

Alphabet Inc said on Thursday its Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt will step down in January, ending a 17-year-run in which he played a central role in building a promising start-up called Google into a global technology powerhouse.

He will continue to serve on the Alphabet’s board of directors and act as an adviser on focused on technical and science issues, the company said.

“The time is right in Alphabet’s evolution for this transition,” Schmidt said in a statement.

“I’m incredibly excited about the progress our companies are making and about the strong leaders who are driving that innovation,” said Chief Executive Larry Page in a statement.

Schmidt, who was recruited to the company by Google co-founders Page and Sergey Brin, served as chief executive from 2001 through 2011, acting as what the three jokingly referred to as the “adult supervision.”

Schmidt then became executive chairman, often travelling the world touting the company’s accomplishments, negotiating with governments on regulatory matters and speaking about the state of the tech industry.