Terry Semel, Yahoo‘s CEO for 6 years, who was reported to have resigned under pressure and was immediately replaced by Jerry Yang, has long been under observation by Yahoo stockholders.
Apparently, Semel was being scrutinized as Yahoo’s stocks have gone haywire over the years. The resignation came less than a week after he was confronted by exasperated shareholders who were unsatisfied with Google pulling farther ahead from them in the web search industry.
The stockholders, it seems, were pleased with Semel’s resignation, Yang’s appointment, and Susan Decker’s promotion to President, resulting to a significant increase in shares since the shuffle. Yahoo shares gained 81 cents finish at $28.12 Monday, then moved forward to $1.33, or 4.7 percent, in extended trading.
Yang stated in an interview, “We are well aware of the challenges facing Yahoo. We need to execute better and to get better talent. I feel Yahoo needed someone to be here for the long haul.”
Semel remains in a non-executive position as chairman and adviser to Yang, saying, “The company is in good hands. I felt like it was time for me to move more into a coach’s role than a player’s role.”
Originally posted on June 19, 2007 @ 5:03 am