Yahoo appoints new CEO, chairman
Yahoo announced on Sunday that it has replaced CEO Scott Thompson, who had been embroiled in a public relations maelstrom following revelations that his resume was padded, with Ross Levinsohn as interim CEO. Fred Amoroso also replaces Roy Bostock, who has stepped down from his role as non-executive chairman.
The Web company released a statement on Sunday saying that Thompson had "left the company" and will be replaced by former global media chief Levinsohn effective immediately. He will manage the company's day-to-day operations with assistance from Yahoo's existing senior leadership team, it stated.
Former PayPal president Thompson, who had only been appointed in January, had seen his resume scrutinized in the past fortnight, following news that he did not actually receive a computer science degree at Stonehill College as was claimed on his Yahoo biography. The information was revealed by Third Point's founder Daniel Loeb, whose investment firm has a 5.8 percent stake in the Web company, according to a report by ZDNet Asia's sister site, CNET News.
Loeb had earlier requested for more seats on Yahoo's board but was rebuffed, and he subsequently challenged the then-CEO's credibility and capability in leading the company.
In the Sunday statement, Yahoo stated that it had agreed on a settlement with Third Point which will see three of the latter's nominees--Loeb, Harry Wilson, and Michael Wolf--joining the board on May 16, 2012. These three new directors and Amoroso will take the place of departed directors, including former non-executive chairman Bostock, who resigned from their positions last night.
"The board is pleased to announce these changes and the settlement with Third Point, and is confident that they will serve the best interests of our shareholders and further accelerate the substantial advances the company has made operationally and organizationally since last August," said Fred Amoroso, chairman of Yahoo's board of directors.