Google's Eric Schmidt Invests in Obama's Big Data Brains - Businessweek

Politically decisive and divisive (e.g., National Journal asserts Civis "has pledged to serve only liberal causes")

"During the 2012 campaign, Barack Obama’s reelection team had an underappreciated asset: Google’s (GOOG) executive chairman, Eric Schmidt. He helped recruit talent, choose technology, and coach the campaign manager, Jim Messina, on the finer points of leading a large organization. “On election night he was in our boiler room in Chicago,” says David Plouffe, then a senior White House adviser. Schmidt had a particular affinity for a group of engineers and statisticians tucked away beneath a disco ball in a darkened corner of the office known as “the Cave.” The data analytics team, led by 30-year-old Dan Wagner, is credited with producing Obama’s surprising 5 million-vote margin of victory."

Google's Eric Schmidt Invests in Obama's Big Data Brains - Businessweek