Now that Google has transformed the way content is consumed and distributed, it is hoping to win the race toward mobile, the Internet search giant's executive chairman told CNBC's "Street Signs" Tuesday.
"The entire industry is organized around this mobile transition and who gets there first is going to be both the economic winner and the influence winner," Eric Schmidt said.
Schmidt ranked No. 4 on CNBC's list of top 25 people who have had the most profound influence on business and finance over the past 25 years. He shares the honor with Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Read MoreCNBC 25: The Google team
Page and Brin started Google in 1996, and Schmidt joined Google in 2001 to run the business. Schmidt returned day-to-day management to Larry Page in 2011, but remains chairman.
He called the company "very well-positioned" to win the mobile battle, boasting that Android is the No. 1 operating system in the world, operating on about 70 or 80 percent of mobile phones.
"We've been working very hard on this," he said. "Our mobile ads are doing much, much better."
However, Schmidt said he wasn't always on top of the game. He admitted the company was "a little late" getting into social, but said Google+ is now doing well.
Read More25 years later: The dramatic change in gadgets
The executive was humbled by being included on the CNBC 25 list, and called his fellow honorees "people of enormous intelligence and drive."
He also emphasized the continued need for innovation.
"We need more entrepreneurs in our country to solve our many problems—joblessness, job growth, economic growth, exports and so forth. Entrepreneurs are the center of American ethos," Schmidt said.
—By CNBC's Michelle Fox
