Jerry Yang Steps Down As Yahoo CEO
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.
But, in a memo to Yahoo’s employees, obtained by BoomTown, Yang confirms the pending departure and writes: “…we believe the time is now right to transition to a new ceo who can take the company to the next level.”
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.
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