On January 5th Yahoo! surprised Silicon Alley and Wall Street by PayPal president Scott Thompson as its new CEO. Today, the website's co-founder (and "Chief Yahoo!") Jerry Yang resigned from the company. Yang, who co-founded the search portal in 1995 with David Filo, immediately no longer serves on its Board of Directors or holds any other positions with the company, and also resigned from the Boards of Yahoo Japan Corporation and China's Alibaba Group Holding Limited.
In a letter to the Yahoo! Board Chairman Roy Bostock, Yang — who taped the video above for his alma mater, Stanford University, two months ago — wrote,
“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.”
As noted in the press release on his departure, Yang co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in 1995 with David Filo and served as a member of the Board of Directors since March 1995 and as Chief Executive Officer from June 2007 to January 2009. The Company went public in 1996.
“Jerry Yang is a visionary and a pioneer, who has contributed enormously to Yahoo! during his many years of service,” said Roy Bostock, Chairman of the Yahoo! Board. “It has been a pleasure to work with Jerry. His unique strategic insights have been invaluable. He has always remained focused on the best interests of Yahoo!’s stakeholders, including shareholders, employees and more than 700 million users. And while I and the entire Board respect his decision, we will miss his remarkable perspective, vision and wise counsel. On behalf of the Board, we thank Jerry and wish him all the very best in his future endeavors.”
Bostock concluded, “We appreciate Jerry’s comments and share his enthusiasm for the company’s prospects. With Scott Thompson leading an outstanding team of Yahoos to deliver innovative products and an engaging customer experience, Yahoo!’s future is bright.”
“I am grateful for the warm welcome and support Jerry provided me during my early days here,” said Scott Thompson, Yahoo!’s Chief Executive Officer. “Jerry leaves behind a legacy of innovation and customer focus for this iconic brand, having shaped our culture by fostering a spirit of innovation that began 17 years ago and continues to grow even stronger today. Jerry has great confidence in the future of Yahoo!, and I share his confidence in the enormous potential of Yahoo! in the days ahead.”
Marketwatch says that Wall Street welcomed the news of Yang's resignation today:
Even though he was a co-founder and a major force at the Internet pioneer, Yang has made some big missteps in the last few years. His biggest was probably turning down the 2008 merger offer worth $33 a share from Microsoft Corp. +0.12% — a move that has left Yahoo’s stock languishing in the mid-teens for most of the last three years. Last year, he was on the board of e-commerce giant Alibaba when chairman Jack Ma moved the Alipay online payments business away from the parent. A big fight ensued over whether or not Yahoo received the proper value for the Alipay business.
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