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Eric Schmidt to become technical advisor to Alphabet

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Re: Eric Schmidt to become technical advisor to Alphabet

#51

Post by notatoad »

maxpupmax wrote: post #44
georgeglue1 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. Obama could be a good bet if he would take the job. (Perhaps the departure was predicated on Obama agreeing in advance)

Honest question: Why would Obama be a good bet? Or is this comment a joke?

I think it's highly unlikely. They need to find somebody whose stature would be increased by becoming the chairman of alphabet in about the same proportion as the prestige Alphabet would gain by having that person as their chair.

Obama as their chairman would be a huge win for Google, but I feel like he probably has better things to do. As a former president, being tied to Google would only hinder him in lobbying goverments for whatever he chooses to lobby for.

Re: Eric Schmidt to become technical advisor to Alphabet

#54

Post by [deleted] »

semperdark wrote: post #47
jamiesonbecker wrote: post #16

One of the most interesting debates was between Eric Schmidt and Peter Thiel back in 2012, especially in the positions that Eric staked out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsXFwy6gG_4

Interesting enough to be frustratingly incomplete. I wish they had the time to go into more depth rather than debating the meaning of terms.

[deleted]

Re: Eric Schmidt to become technical advisor to Alphabet

#55

Post by walshemj »

rajnathani wrote: post #3

> Alphabet expects that its board will appoint a new, non-executive chairman at its next meeting in January, meaning that it will join the ranks of Apple and Microsoft as major companies with non-executive chairman. Could someone provide some context around this topic of executive/non-executive chairpersons? Edit: The above quote is taken from the original link which this HN post pointed to - https://www.cnbc.com/201…

Its considered best practice for corporate governance - mainly as the independent non exec chairman can hold the CEO to account on behalf of the share holders - this should have happened in the HP scandal a while back.

Re: Eric Schmidt to become technical advisor to Alphabet

#56

Post by justboxing »

bertil wrote: post #17
prepend wrote: post #9

Is this related to #metoo?

For anyone wondering: there have been some rumours that Eric Schmidt has been indiscrete in the past, more specifically that he described that he had an “open marriage” and that he had relations with “exotic dancers”. As far as I can tell, there is no reason to think that his close collaborators at Google didn’t know about and discovered something unsavoury recently. More to the point, there is no reason to think his…

More than rumors. Apparently he had 1 of his many mistresses sign a "confidentiality agreement."[1] This is the kind of stuff Dave Chappelle used to joke about lol, in his "Love Contract" piece[2]. Can't believe someone actually did it - i.e. have the other person sign a confidentiality agreement before a consensual (sometime paid) sexual encounter.

[1] Source: Google CEO and serial womanizer Eric Schmidt spends $15 million on private, no doorman Manhattan penthouse and then has it totally soundproofed => http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2377785/Google-CEO-s...

[2] “THE CHAPPELLE SHOW” DRAMATIZES SEXUAL CONSENT WITH THE LOVE CONTRACT => https://vimeo.com/183089808

Re: Eric Schmidt to become technical advisor to Alphabet

#59

Post by bennettfeely »

At the bottom of this thread is a comment by 'AmIFirstToThink' which has been inexplicably marked "dead". It seems to be the only reply as of writing this that makes the connection of Schmidt's stepping down to his strong bets during the 2016 election.

A little-noticed WSJ piece from October would support that idea:

> [Google] Employees donated $1.6 million to her campaign, about 80% more than the amount given by workers at any other corporation, and Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt helped set up companies to analyze political data for the campaign. Mr. Schmidt even wore a badge labeled “STAFF” at Mrs. Clinton’s election-night bash.

> His support of the losing side didn’t go unnoticed among the victors. As President-elect Donald Trump was preparing for a meeting with tech executives at Trump Tower not long before his inauguration, he asked strategist Stephen Bannon whether Mr. Schmidt was “the guy that tried to help Hillary win the election,” according to someone who heard the conversation.

> “Yes,” said Mr. Bannon. “Yes, he is.”

> Google, one of the most powerful players in Washington in recent years, is now facing the consequences of its lost political clout—and is moving mountains to regain it.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/googles-dominance-in-washington...

Re: Eric Schmidt to become technical advisor to Alphabet

#60

Post by andrew_ »

georgeglue1 wrote: post #45
maxpupmax wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honest question: Why would Obama be a good bet? Or is this comment a joke?

Obama could personally call any world leader and talk about taxes, privacy, regulation, etc. with authority. He would also be generally pragmatic, likable, and qualified.

Objectively speaking, he would generally be considered likable by about 47.9 [1] of the voting public. It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that the vast majority of employees of either Alphabet or Google would agree with your assessment, and indeed likely most in the tech sector. But I'm not sure any polarizing figure would be a good fit outside of those niches.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_app...

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