Schmidt Family Foundation October 2011. It also supports the $1.5 million Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health X Prize for work on ocean acidification. In March 2013, the Foundation and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched the Schmidt-MacArthur Fellowship, a global fellowship program for developing the skills and innovative mindset needed for the circular economy. Schmidt Family Foundation The Schmidt Family Foundation is a private foundation created in 2006 by Eric Schmidt, the Executive Chairman of Google, and his wife Wendy Schmidt, to address issues pertaining to sustainability and the responsible use of natural resources. The foundation was established in 2006 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt,
Eric Schmidt software manager. He rose to become director of software engineering, vice president and general manager of the software products division, vice president of the general systems group, and president of Sun Technology Enterprises. During his time at Sun, he was the target of two notable April Fool's Day pranks. In the first, his office was taken apart and rebuilt on a platform in the middle of a pond, complete with a working phone. The next year, a working Volkswagen Beetle was taken apart and re-assembled in his office. In April 1997, Schmidt became the CEO and chairman of the board