Shake up at Google – Eric Schmidt steps down as CEO

Wow, didn’t see this coming but Kirsten Nicole over at SiliconAngle is reporting that at today’s earning call for Google they announced that Eric Schmidt will be stepping down as Google’s CEO as of April 4th. Word is that co-founder Larry Page will be taking over that position.

This is what Google has said on the matter, limited as it may be.

Starting from April 4, Larry Page, Google Co-Founder, will take charge of Google’s day-to-day operations as Chief Executive Officer.

Sergey Brin, Google Co-Founder, will devote his energy to strategic projects, in particular working on new products.

Eric Schmidt will assume the role of Executive Chairman, focusing externally on deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership–all of which are increasingly important given Google’s global reach. Internally, he will continue to act as an advisor to Larry and Sergey.

Like I said – I didn’t see this coming at all, as probably much of the tech blogosphere didn’t see it coming either.