This year, our honoree was Eric Schmidt, former CEO, Google.
Eric is now Technical Advisor to Alphabet Inc., where he advises its leaders on technology, business and policy issues. He joined Google in 2001 and helped grow the company from a Silicon Valley startup to a global leader in technology. He served as Google’s Chief Executive Officer from 2001-2011, and as chairman from 2011-2017. Prior to Google, Eric held leadership roles at Novell and Sun Microsystems, Inc. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Princeton University as well as a master’s degree and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Eric is Chairman of the Department of Defense’s Innovation Board and was awarded the Medal for Distinguished Public Service by Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter. He is the co-author of The New Digital Age and How Google Works, and serves on the boards of the Mayo Clinic and the Broad Institute. He’s a Gulfstream pilot, and his philanthropic efforts through The Schmidt Family Foundation focus on climate change, including support of ocean and marine life studies at sea, as well as education, specifically cutting-edge research and technology in the natural sciences and engineering.
7th Annual Benefit Dinner, October 2017
Last year, we had the pleasure of welcoming honoree and keynote speaker Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Founder and Chief Executive, Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism; and special guest Gillian Tett.
We also awarded the Michel David-Weill Scholarship to Zachary Young, a deserving student from Yale who demonstrates the core values of high achievement, leadership, multiculturalism and tolerance, which were embodied by Sciences Po alumnus Michel David-Weill.
