Schmidt to Page: "No More Adult Supervision"

Google at Davos When Google announced last week that Eric Schmidt would be standing down as Chief Executive, he tweeted that it was because "day to day adult supervision no longer needed" for the company's co-founders, Larry Page and Sergei Brin. Page will take over the day to day running of the company, with Schmidt kicked upstairs, as Chairman. It was a flip comment - but curious. The general view in Silicon Valley these days is that Google is rather too grown up. What it needs to do is regain its youth.

Eric Schmidt, who stepped down this month as Google's chief executive, will earn a salary of $1.25 million a year in his new role as executive chairman of the Internet search and advertising giant.Schmidt, who was replaced as CEO by Google co-founder Larry Page on April 4, can earn up to $6.0 million in 2011 through bonus payments, Google said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.As CEO, Schmidt earned a token salary of $1, the same amount pulled in by Page and Google's other co-founder, Sergey Brin.

Felix Salmon submits: Ten years is a long time to be one of the most visible CEOs in the world, especially when the buck doesn’t really stop with you but rather with a triumvirate where you’re clearly the third wheel.

Google co-founder Larry Page is taking over as CEO in an unexpected shake-up that upstaged the Internet search leader's fourth-quarter earnings. Page reclaims the top job from Eric Schmidt, who had been brought in as CEO a decade ago.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

By Dana Blankenhorn: Every company has its fans as well as its detractors. With tech outfits increasingly pitching themselves as one-stop shops, loyalty to one or the other big player is increasingly the norm.

Tom Lydon submits: Google (NasdaqGS: GOOG) shares were set to weigh on technology and Internet exchange traded funds (ETFs) on Friday. The stock was down more than 5% before the bell after the company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results.