Yang departs, cuts all ties with Yahoo
Jerry Yang has left Yahoo, the company he co-founded in 1995. In a statement issued by Yahoo on Monday, Scott Thompson, CEO of Yahoo, said "Jerry leaves behind a legacy of innovation and customer focus for this iconic brand".
"My time at Yahoo, from its founding to the present, has encompassed some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life," Yang said in the statement. "However, the time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo." As well as leaving Yahoo's US company, he has also resigned from the boards of related companies Yahoo Japan Corporation and Alibaba Group Holding Limited.
Yang, 43, was CEO of Yahoo from 2007 to 2009, during which time the company rejected a takeover offer from Microsoft of $47.5bn (£31bn). He was replaced by Carol Bartz, who was fired in September 2011: Thompson, formerly head of PayPal, was appointed two weeks ago. The company has a current market capitalisation of $19.2bn, and has registered twelve consecutive quarters of declining revenue.
"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, in the statement. "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."