Jerry Yang resigns from Yahoo
The end of an internet era has come with the resignation of Jerry Yang, the 43-year-old co-founder of Yahoo, from his position on the company's board after 16 years.
Yang's reign as chief executive, between June 2007 and January 2009, included the disastrous decision – from Yahoo shareholders' point of view – to reject a $44.6bn (£29.1bn) takeover offer from Microsoft in February 2008, which priced the company at a 50% premium on its share price at the time.
Yang's rejection was based on internal forecasts that suggested that Yahoo would grow to become worth far more than Steve Ballmer's offer — which turned out to be completely wrong, a fact that was exposed by the credit crunch and the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, followed by a downturn that has exposed Yahoo to increasing pressure from competitors such as Facebook and Twitter.
Announcing Yang's resignation — which had been expected after the appointment of ex-PayPal president Scott Thompson to the chief executive's chair on 4 January — Roy Bostock, the chairman of Yahoo's board, said: "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."
full: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jan/17/jerry-yang-resigns-yahoo
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