Eric Schmidt as been at Google a long time, having become the company's CEO way back in 2001. More recently he served as the Executive Chairman of Alphabet, but today Schmidt announced a major change.

Eric Schmidt is leaving his position as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors at Alphabet. The change will be effective as of Alphabet's next regular board meeting, which is happening in January 2018.

Schmidt isn't completely leaving Alphabet, though, as the company says that he'll become a "technical advisor". He'll also continue to serve on Alphabet's Board of Directors.

"Larry, Sergey, Sundar and I all believe that the time is right in Alphabet’s evolution for this transition," Schmidt said in a statement. "The Alphabet structure is working well, and Google and the Other Bets are thriving."

In addition to serving as a technical advisor and board member to Alphabet, Schmidt plans to focus more on science and technology issues as well as philanthropy.

After ten years as CEO and seven as Executive Chairman, I can’t wait to dive into the latest in science, technology, and philanthropy. I look forward to working with Larry and Sergey on our future here at Alphabet. https://t.co/nVnZqMEHoI

— Eric Schmidt (@ericschmidt) December 21, 2017