Kapra's blog

Larry Page il inlocuieste pe Eric Schmidt la conducerea executiva a Google

Surpriza ieri, odata cu anuntarea rezultatelor financiare ale Google: Larry Page, unul dintre cei doi fondatori ai Google a preluat conducerea de zi cu zi a companiei,  devenind CEO si inlocuindu-l pe Eric Schmidt, care a fost numit  presedinte executiv.

In imagine: Eric Schmidt, Larry Page (la volan) si Sergey Brin

Schmidt conduce Google din 2001, de pe vremea cand compania avea doar 200 de angajati iar perspectiva de a deveni profitabila era incerta. Astazi, Google are 24.000 de angajati, e cotata la bursa si produce venituri anuale care se apropie de 30 de miliarde de dolari. Se poate spune ca daca cei doi fondatori au fost geniali cu algoritmul lor, Schmidt a fost cel care a crescut compania.

Schimbarea va deveni efectiva la 4 aprilie

Page a mai fost CEO, primul de altfel, intre 1998 si 2001, si in calitate de director executiv se va ocupa  din primavara de proiecte strategice, in principal produse noi (mai ales in conditiile in care Facebook cunoaste o dezvoltare interesanta).
Schmidt, 55 de ani, care devine chairman, se va concentra pe parteneriate, dezvoltarea relatiilor de business si va indeplini functia de consultant intern al Google.

Unii analisti nu exclud posibilitatea ca Schmidt sa fie dispus sa accepte un post in administratia Obama.

Motivul oficial al acestei schimbari este clarificarea rolurilor in managementul companiei:
„ Am discutat despre cum am putea simplifica structura de conducere a Google. In opinia mea Larry este gata sa conduca compania” – scrie Schmidt pe blogul Google.

Cat detine Schmidt din Google

Daca si-ar vinde acum actiunile pe care le detine la Google, Schidt ar obtine 5,8 miliarde de dolari. El nu si-a mai vandut nicio actiune din 2007.

Vorbele memorabile ale lui Eric Schmidt

The Washington Post a adunat cateva dintre panseurile incisive ale lui Schimdt:

* In December, 2009, he told CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo, "If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place."

* In March, he brushed off a question about whether people should trust Google with so much of their data by responding, "Would you prefer someone else? Is there a government that you would prefer to be in charge of this?"

* In that same Q&A session reported by Fortune’s Jon Fortt, he mentioned that "One day we had a conversation where we figured we could just try to predict the stock market," he said. "And then we decided it was illegal. So we stopped doing that."

* At a conference in August, Schmidt told attendees that "If I look at enough of your messaging and your location, and use Artificial Intelligence, we can predict where you are going to go."

* Later that month, he opined to the Wall Street Journal that "most people don’t want Google to answer their questions… They want Google to tell them what they should be doing next."

* In October, attendees at a forum organized by the Atlantic Monthly heard him testify to how much Google could learn about its users with their permission: "We don’t need you to type at all. We know where you are. We know where you’ve been. We can more or less know what you’re thinking about."

* In an CNN interview later that month, Schmidt joked that users offended by photos of their homes showing up in Google’s Street View mapping feature could "just move." He quickly clarified that he "misspoke."

Banii gheata ai Google: 35 de miliarde de dolari

Rezultatele financiare ale Google pe trimestrul patru 2010 sunt excelente, peste asteptarile analistilor:
Venituri de 8,44 miliarde de dolari, in crestere cu 26% fata de trimestrul patru 2009 (6,67 miliarde de dolari) si un profit net de 2,5 mld$ ( 8,5 mld.$ pe intreg anul 2010).

La sfarsitul anului trecut, Google avea fonduri cash de 35 miliarde de dolari.