You do realize that in the world of boardrooms, "retiring" is just the reason somebody gives when they need to save face and they don't want to cause an incident. Incidents typically effect stock prices...

Now, I'm not saying you're wrong, or that he's for sure not actually retiring (he's close age-wise, after all), but I'd argue most retirements aren't.

Alan is an extremely well respected, super nice, and very smart individual. I can all but guarantee no one asked him to leave. He's always been open about having passions for many things and I think he simply decided to prioritize those other things over Google.

When you jump from the stratosphere, and are wealthy, returning the same desktop you've had for a decade may seem underwhelming.