Yahoo: Jerry Yang's One-Year Anniversary

by: Michael Arrington posted on: June 18, 2008 | about stocks: YHOO    
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Today marks Jerry Yang’s one year anniversary of his first day as CEO of Yahoo (YHOO).

What a year it’s been. Yahoo failed to sell itself to Microsoft (MSFT), handed its search marketing business to Google (GOOG), and lost nearly all of its key executives. Its shareholders are in open revolt, and the board appears to be ignoring the situation.

In a blog post on his first day on the job, Yang thanked former CEO Terry Semel, praised President Sue Decker, saying she has “a fierce focus on winning.” And he outlined his joint vision for success that he shared with Decker:

What is that vision? A Yahoo! that executes with speed, clarity and discipline. A Yahoo! that increases its focus on differentiating its products and investing in creativity and innovation. A Yahoo! that better monetizes its audience. A Yahoo! whose great talent is galvanized to address its challenges. And a Yahoo! that is better focused on what’s important to its users, customers, and employees…

I have absolute conviction about Yahoo!’s potential for long-term success as an Internet leader. Yahoo! is a company that started with a vision and a dream and, make no mistake, that dream is very much alive. I’m committed to doing whatever it takes to transform Yahoo! into an even greater success in the future.

The time for me is right. The time is now. The Internet is still young, the opportunities ahead are tremendous, and I’m ready to rally our nearly 12,000 Yahoos around the world to help seize them.

Even now, a year later, it seems clear that the Yang/Decker team have no real vision for where the company will go. The dream may still be alive, but it’s not clear it will be for much longer. We expect Yang to step down as CEO shorty, or else the board will need to issue a statement of support. There is too much negative energy focused on him as leader right now.

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Michael Arrington

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  •  
    RO
    Jun 18 03:26 PM
    Wow, Jerry comes back to the company he founded, gets criticized for not selling out to Microsoft, and is tried, executed, and deemed a 'dead man walking' by the media within a year's time.

    I sometimes wonder if Jerry would've received this same treatment if his last name wasn't 'Yang.'
  •  
    RO
    Jun 18 03:39 PM
    Michael, do you work for Microsoft?

    Just curious
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