Young Gerry (Jerry Yang)

Young Gerry (Jerry Yang)

Leaving Yahoo

On January 17, 2012 Jerry Yang left all posts in company management. He also left positions in Board of Directors of Yahoo, in Boards of Directors of Yahoo Japan and Alibaba Group Holding, the company in the statement reported. Yang took part in development of Yahoo company from the small web portal to Internet giant.

In the letter addressed to the chairman of the board Roy Bostok (Roy Bostock) Young in particular wrote that "the work period from the moment of its basis and includes till present some of the most interesting and impressive events in my life in Yahoo". Nevertheless, according to him, time to pay to tribute and other aspects of life, outside the company came. He also expressed enthusiasm concerning successful perspectives of the company in the future and recent appointment of the former president of PayPal Scott Thompson to a position of the CEO of Yahoo company.

The analyst of Altimeter Group Charlene Li in an interview of IDG News Service expressed a regret in connection with Yang's resignation, having noted however need of such step. According to her, now Thompson, making decisions, will not feel like the uninvited guest. Being not only a cofounder, but also the CEO of the company Jerry Yang was a visible figure in Yahoo. "It is difficult to work in a shadow of such person. Its leaving will really give to Scott the chance to start with a clean slate", - she emphasized.

Other industry analyst, Greg Sterling, considers that Young's resignation can be one of the first in a train probable resignations of Board of Directors of the company which is exposed to criticism from shareholders and financial analysts. According to them, the Board of Directors is responsible for a set of problems of the company. "Possibly, Young in this case is a sacrificial lamb, - Sterling emphasized in telephone interview. – Possibly, it is necessary to expect further resignations and shifts".

The analyst of Gartner of Allen Weiner estimates Young's leaving as his vote of confidence to acting leadership in the sense that the power of Yahoo is sufficient to achieve success in the new digital world without Young's participation. "Considering the future as the digital media company, the absence at Young of work experience in mass media does it by something like an unnecessary small screw", - Weiner noted.

According to other analysts irrespective of the fact which internal factors led to Young's leaving, certainly, they are sign that Yahoo begins a new stage of development under the leadership of the new CEO.

It is worth reminding that Yahoo of one of the first companies started the web directory and the search system. It developed as the web portal implementing online services, such as e-mail and various content, news, financial information, entertaining content and other. Worked as the leading Yahoo web portal to the middle of the 2000th years when thanks to the search system began to gain strength of Google.

Terry Semel worked as the CEO of Yahoo since 2001 and was dismissed in the middle of 2007. Change of interests of audience and decrease in popularity of traditional portals, such as Yahoo, AOL and MSN from Microsoft, transition of users to such services as Google, became obvious as the huge mass of web surfers made Google the center of the activity on the Internet.

At this time Young held a post of the CEO and promised to return the lost positions of Yahoo, but in half a year of being the CEO he had to deal with the absorption undertaken by Microsoft at the beginning of 2008. Then the attempt of Microsoft to purchase Yahoo became something like the corporate soap opera, and Young and Board of Directors of Yahoo resisted this absorption, claiming that Yahoo is more expensive, than Microsoft offers.

Without having found support in response to the offer of about $47 billion Microsoft eventually was given, but the months-long epic unsettled Young and the staff of the company. Young's image, before charismatic and pleasant, was impaired a little as a number of financial analysts and shareholders of the company accused him of a failure of the transaction with Microsoft.

Afterwards Young handed over the reins Carol Bartz. After Board of Directors Bartz in September, 2011 dismissed, unconfirmed information that Young tried to bring together group of investors to redeem the company was heard.

It is not clear yet whether there will be Yahoo in the current status, will become private, it will be sold entirely or in parts. Last week the Board of Directors appointed Thompson to the position of the CEO. The events are regarded today by some as attempt of stabilization of a status of the company after several months of uncertainty.

Young continues to leave

Jerry Yang resigned from a post of the board member of Cisco, said in the exchange documents of the company filed on September 21, 2012.

The company reports that Young will focus on more dense implementation of new business and personal interests.

Jerry Yang was a part of Board of Directors of Cisco since 2000 when Yahoo and Cisco cost several times more present positions.

With Young's leaving, the structure of Board of Directors of Cisco was reduced to 13 members. Also it is said in the statement of the company that the quantitative structure of Board of Directors will not change also after the annual meeting of shareholders appointed to November 15, 2012.

Short biography

Jerry Chih-Yuan Yang was born in 1967. Birthplace: Taipei, Taiwan. Marital Status: married. Lives in the USA. Education: degree of the bachelor and master on electrical equipment of Stanford University.

Worked in Yahoo! company and its Board of Directors till 2012. Resigned on January 17, 2012.