Jerry Yang To Step Down As CEO!

[www.AmCy.org]

From the All Things D:

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang will step down from his job as CEO, said sources close to the company, as soon as the board finds a replacement for him, in what sources close to the situation call a joint decision by him and the company’s directors.

Yahoo (YHOO) will announce the move within the next hour.

Yahoo has hired Heidrick & Struggles, the well-known executive search firm, to evaluate candidates, both internally and externally.

After a replacement is found, which the company hopes will be quickly, sources said, Yang will resume his former title as Chief Yahoo and will also remain on the company’s board.

While did-he-walk-or-was-he-pushed speculation will no doubt be rampant, sources said Yang has and will play an important role in the search for his replacement.

Sources close to the board expect the choice will end up being an outsider and likely not current Yahoo President Sue Decker, although she is being considered for the job.

But both she and Yang have been closely affiliated with each other, as the company has struggled to right itself after tumultuous year and its stock price has plummeted.

Yahoo shares close today at $10.63, trading at historic lows and giving the company a valuation of only $14.7 billion.

While Yahoo’s board has some execs in mind to become CEO, obvious candidates include News Corp. COO Peter Chernin, as well as former AOL head Jon Miller, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and former Yahoo COO Dan Rosensweig.

BoomTown would also throw in former Microsoft exec Kevin Johnson, who is now CEO of Juniper Networks, who led the software giant’s abandoned takeover bid against Yahoo earlier this year.

According to sources, both Yang and the board have been discussing the move for months, although publicly Yang has been saying he was going to stay in place to see through the many changes he has made in his 16-month tenure.

In a recent interview with me, in fact, Yang said about his determination to lead:

“In this uncertain environment, I think I am absolutely the right person. Times like this require a leader who really understands this company and its customers, and I think I do. The world is a different place today than even a month ago and I think I am the best person to guide Yahoo through this volatile time.”

In fact, it has always been a volatile time for Yang. He took over suddenly last July from former CEO Terry Semel, whose departure also came after Yahoo’s struggles worsened.

Things only got worse for Yang, due to both his own and previous management missteps and also external forces, including a hostile takeover attempt by Microsoft (MSFT), which was followed by a proxy fight by activist shareholder Carl Icahn.

Yahoo also saw its search business decline and its strong graphical ad business suffer in the midst of the current economic meltdown.

There has also been an exodus of major executives over the last year, along with recently announced layoffs of 10 percent of the company, which are set to take place December 10.

In addition, Yahoo’s controversial search ad with Google (GOOG) recently collapsed and its talks to merge with Time Warner (TWX) online unit AOL have dragged on.

With all this, sources close to the company said that both Yang and the board felt the company needed another leader to take it to the next level, and complete the turnaround efforts Yang has been trying to pull off.

“It was time for someone else,” said one source close to the board.

More, obviously, to come…

[resaik_king]

Jerry Yang is a loser.....

[britishguy]

Yang in many respects by his actions when negotiating with Microsoft earlier this year, has in fact attributed to his own demise

In fact he has
'Been hoisted by his own petard'
Shakespeare

[kenbrower]

Not a minute too soon

[javaongsan]

its about time ...

[inspiration100]

You get what you pay for. He hurt yahoo more than helped in the last year IMO.

[kodut]

how many times is he going to step up and down ?

[gordon08]

Good riddance. He f*cked up the deal with Microsoft.

[chant]

Yahoo needs to get back on the right track or else it's days as a major player on the net are indeed numbered. Losing Yang is a step in the right direction but they need to find a real superstar to replace him and fix the company's direction.

[MMandYOu]

Google has owned Yang for the longest time. Im glad my mutual fund bailed on Yahoo after he screwed up the Microsoft deal.

[Cyclops]

My Yahoo Plan as CEO….YApple!

First off, it’s not that I am first with this plan, but my stint will be the cheapest, swiftest and offer the most upside to all.

The board is done…FU see you later.

Other than a couple server dudes and a clerk in accounts payable, 99.9 percent pink slips. TOMORROW.

My guess, is everything still runs, much like the Y2K scare that was going to be the end of the world, if 99 percent of Yahoo employees left tomorrow, things would still run.

There are just three things that matter in Web 4.48 - PORN, SPORTS and STOCKS. I could do all three with a few nutjob contributors at DigitalPoint.

Everything else gets sold off. Sold on Ebay and Craigslist. News goes first. Once I sell everything, Steve Jobs can have the rest for the difference of what I got and today’s closing price. Much better than what the stock will be worth in 6 months.

Every single ad on ANY Yahoo page in perpetuity will be for Steve Jobs and iMacs and IPhones. NO AD department, therefore, no complaints about eyeballs, and ad spending and monetizing video.

Fill in the rest.

Homerun for Apple and Yahoo the brand lives on as the social networking side of Apple called Yapple which I will run side by side with Steve until we destroy MySpace and Facebook (though they will likely just do that themselves). Although I have some friends at Yahoo, they know my number and we will find a home for them.

[VTTE]

Good find, can't say I'm too concerned I don't use Yahoo for a single thing anyway.

[seocipl]

I also read for this news
But it is true ?

[tanenqq]

very unfortunate, Jerry Yang is great

[RightMan]

This matter comes up every now and then...but nothing concrete seems to happen.

Neither is Yang stepping down..nor is Microsoft looking any more interested to gulp it...

[gsv13]

Good for yahoo. Company needs fresh thinking.

[menj1980]

This is probably good news as Microsoft can probably go ahead with the merger with Yahoo now. I really look forward to that happening.

[gr8liverpoolfan]

Originally Posted by maxxcwl

This is probably good news as Microsoft can probably go ahead with the merger with Yahoo now. I really look forward to that happening.

Microsoft has said that it is not interested in buying Yahoo, even with Yang out of the picture.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sciencean...l-rumours.html

[www.AmCy.org]

Originally Posted by gr8liverpoolfan

Microsoft has said that it is not interested in buying Yahoo, even with Yang out of the picture...

That's the way I'd play it if I was Mr. Ballmer. Stocks in all sectors are tanking, and nobody knows when we'll hit bottom. He'll wait until Y! is selling for about $2 per share (it's @ $8.95 right now), then he'll make his move. He'll swoop in like a raptor and gobble up Y! in a single mouthful.

Microsoft is sitting on a huge mountain of cash. They can afford to wait.

And this is how Baller will party when the deal is done! Yep.

AmCy

PS: yeah, he'll never be president of the United States