Eric Schmidt

Eric Schmidt is an accomplished technologist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. As Google’s CEO, he pioneered the company’s transformation from a Silicon Valley startup to a global leader in technology. Schmidt served as Google’s CEO and chairman from 2001 to 2011, as executive chairman from 2011 to 2018, and most recently as technical advisor. Under his leadership, Google dramatically scaled its infrastructure and diversified its product offerings while maintaining a strong culture of innovation.

Schmidt currently serves as chair of the Broad Institute’s board of directors. He also sits on the board of the Mayo Clinic and the advisory board at UC Berkeley, among others. He is a Gulfstream pilot, and his philanthropic efforts through the Schmidt Family Foundation and the Schmidt Ocean Institute focus on climate change, including the support of ocean and marine life studies at sea, as well as education and cutting-edge research and technology in natural sciences and engineering.

Schmidt is also the co-founder of Schmidt Futures, which bets early on exceptional people making the world better, applying science and technology thoughtfully, and bringing people together across fields. In 2019, Schmidt and his wife, Wendy Schmidt, announced a new $1 billion philanthropic commitment to identify and support talent across disciplines and around the globe, beginning with the launch of Rise, a partnership with Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust to increase opportunities for extraordinary young people and empower them to serve others.

Most recently, he founded the Special Competitive Studies Project, a nonprofit initiative focused on strengthening America’s long-term AI and technological competitiveness in national security, the economy, and society.

Schmidt is the co-author of the bestselling books The Age of AI: And Our Human Future, The New Digital Age, How Google Works, and Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell. He is also the host of “Reimagine with Eric Schmidt,” a series of conversations with leaders exploring how society can build a brighter future after the global coronavirus pandemic.