Co-Founder Jerry Yang is stepping down from the board according to the UK website theguardian. The company is undergoing a strategic review of a new chief. Yahoo remains one of the biggest draws on the Internet with some 600 million hits per month, it is part of the First Era of the internet much like AOL another jurassic site that has struggled to stay relevant alongside leaders like Google and Facebook the new kids on the block.
In recent years Yahoo has struggled to find an identity, it’s not competitive with Google, it’s not competitive with Facebook. It generates ad revenue cause of it’s traffic however. However the company just doesn’t seem relevant in today’s internet.
In 2008 Steve Ballmer made a $44.6 billion take over bit but Yahoo, resisted it. Since then Yahoo’s value has dropped to roughly $19 billion. However with Yang gone now, that is sure to slide more.
Speculators wonder if Microsoft will attempt another buy out with Yang gone.
Former Paypal President Scott Thompson was recently names Yahoo’s CEO, this is being seen possibly as too little and too late. The company must reinvent itself, to stay relevant to today’s internet or face the fate of Xerox and Kodak who once were dominant in their fields only to have it all slip away.
Times are now getting REAL at Yahoo, as it’s has frozen new hires and is considering lay off’s of existing employees.
Here is a copy of the letter Jerry Yang wrote Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock:
January 16, 2012
Roy Bostock
Chairman
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089Dear Roy:
I am writing to inform you that I hereby resign from the Board of Directors of, and all other positions with, Yahoo! Inc. effective January 17, 2012.
My time at Yahoo!, from its founding to the present, has encompassed some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life. However, the time
has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo! As I leave the company I co-founded nearly 17 years ago, I am enthusiastic about the appointment of Scott Thompson as Chief Executive Officer and his ability, along with the entire Yahoo! leadership team, to guide Yahoo! into an exciting and successful future.Sincerely
Jerry Yang
Update 1.25.2012 – Reuters this morning with a statement from Yahoo’s New CEO. Yahoo Inc Chief Executive Scott Thompson said reviving the company’s flagging display advertising business was his “highest priority,” even as he crafts a broader plan to bring the struggling Internet company back to fighting form. Shares of the company slipped 9 cents to $15.60 in after-hours trading.
Sources: theguardian, mercurynews, AllThingsD, CNet