Google’s parent company, Alphabet has announced this week that Eric Schmidt, the search giant’s former CEO will be stepping down from his position as the Alphabet’s executive chairman. The former Google CEO will still part of the Alphabet’s executive board.

Schmidt will also serve the Alphabet in his capacity now as a technical advisor. Alphabet’s announcement has earned mixed reactions from across the globe. It can be recalled that he once served at Google back in 2001.

Eric Schmidt as Alphabet’s new technical advisor?

During his stint in Google, Schmidt took various senior roles in the tech company. Both Larry Page and Sergey Brin brought him to Google as the company’s chief executive.

“Since 2001, Eric has provided us with business and engineering expertise and a clear vision about the future of technology,” Larry Page, CEO of Alphabet, said in a press statement.

“Continuing his 17 years of service to the company, he’ll now be helping us as a technical advisor on science and technology issues. I’m incredibly excited about the progress our companies are making, and about the strong leaders who are driving that innovation,” Page added.

But for Schmidt, his plan to step down is right in the context of Alphabet’s “evolution for this transition.”

“Larry, Sergey, Sundar and I all believe that the time is right in Alphabet’s evolution for this transition. The Alphabet structure is working well, and Google and the Other Bets are thriving,” Schmidt commented, citing the same press statement.

“In recent years, I’ve been spending a lot of my time on science and technology issues, and philanthropy and I plan to expand that work,” he added.

Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in September 1998. To date, Google employs more than 70, 000 global employees. The company developed technological platforms like Maps, Ads, Gmail, Chrome, YouTube, Android, among others.