Eric Schmidt, Ph.D.

Eric Schmidt advises the leaders of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, on technology, business and policy issues. Schmidt joined Google in 2001 and helped grow the company from a Silicon Valley startup to a global leader in technology. He served as Google’s chief executive officer from 2001 to 2011, and as chairman from 2011 to 2017.

Prior to Google, Schmidt held leadership roles at Novell and Sun Microsystems. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Princeton University as well as a master’s degree and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Schmidt is chairman of the Department of Defense’s Innovation Board and was awarded the Medal for Distinguished Public Service by Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.

He is the co-author of “The New Digital Age” and “How Google Works” and serves on the boards of the Mayo Clinic and the Broad Institute. He is a Gulfstream pilot, and his philanthropic efforts through The Schmidt Family Foundation focus on climate change, including support of ocean and marine life studies at sea, as well as on education, specifically in cutting-edge research and technology in the natural sciences and engineering.