NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive officer of Google and a veteran leader of the company, will step down from the board of Google parent Alphabet.

Schmidt served as CEO of the search engine from 2001 to 2011, then as executive chairman until 2018.

"Eric has made an extraordinary contribution to Google and Alphabet as CEO, chairman, and board member. We are extremely grateful for his guidance and leadership over many years," John Hennessy, Alphabet's current board chair, said on Tuesday (April 30) in a statement.

Alphabet also appointed Robin L. Washington, chief financial officer of Gilead Sciences, as a director.