Eric Schmidt (1955–) — The Man Behind Google's Rise to Power

Eric Schmidt is one of the most influential managers in the history of IT.

His main achievement is closely tied to Google becoming the most influential internet company worldwide.

It was during Schmidt’s time at Google that the company:

• survived the dot-com crash of the early 2000s
• turned Gmail into the most widely used email service in the world
• launched Google Maps — a complex and breakthrough product that reinforced Google’s reputation as a company driving global innovation
• acquired Android and started its rapid development

Schmidt organized Google in a way that allowed different products to grow independently within a single company.

In 2001, Google’s leadership — Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and their investors — brought in an experienced executive as CEO.

By that time, Schmidt already had a strong track record:

• worked at Bell Labs — one of the most innovative tech organizations of the 1960s and 1970s
• participated in the development of UNIX
• moved to Sun Microsystems, where he became CTO
• worked as CEO at Novell

Schmidt was not just a “manager with an MBA” — he had a deep engineering background.

Today, Eric Schmidt advises Google and the U.S. government and is active as an investor.

See also David Farber: The Visionary Behind the Modern Internet.