Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang resigns
Jerry Yang, co-founder and ex-CEO of Yahoo, has announced his resignation from the company's board and all other roles within the organization. He also gave his support to the newly appointed CEO, Scott Thompson.
In a statement Wednesday, the Sunnyvale-based Web company announced that Yang has left the company he founded 17 years ago, including relinquishing his board roles on both Yahoo Japan and the Alibaba Group, in which the company has stakes in.
The co-founder, in his letter to Yahoo's board chairman Roy Bostock, said: "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 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."
Thompson lauded Yang's contributions to the company, saying he left behind a "legacy of innovation and customer focus for this iconic brand". "Jerry has great confidence in the future of Yahoo, and I share his confidence in the enormous potential of Yahoo in the days ahead."
"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."
Yang, who started the company with David Filo inn 1995, steered it toward public listing in 1996. However, he would be remembered for rejecting Microsoft's US$44 billion bid for Yahoo in 2008 while he was still CEO, after which the company struggled to innovate and compete quickly enough against its rivals.
The co-founder might not be the only board member to leave the company either. AllThingsD cited sources who said four other board members will step down soon.