yang

Dissident Yahoo investor lays more groundwork for proxy fight

Third Point LLC, the hedge fund that owns 5.8 percent of Yahoo, is taking its case against the company's current strategy to the shareholders. Specifically, the fund is asking shareholders to vote in an alternate slate of directors in an attempt to oversee new CEO Scott Thompson as he struggles to turn the company around.

Yahoo snagged Thompson from eBay in January following last September's ouster of former CEO Carol Bartz. Co-founder Jerry Yang resigned shortly afterwards, while several board members announced that they would not seek re-election this year.

But those changes weren't enough to … Read more

Apple throws a hail mary in China iPad case

Apple is pulling no punches in its case against Proview, but if it loses this round, that might be lights out for Apple's iPad brand in China.

The iPhone maker today argued its case for why it should be allowed to use the iPad name in China before the Higher People's Court of Guangzhou. The plaintiff, Proview Technology, argues that it owns the iPad trademark and should be compensated for Apple's use of the name. If Apple doesn't want to license the trademark, Proview says, it should be forced to change its tablet's name.

"… Read more

Web sites paint it black to protest SOPA

week in review Some of the Internet's most popular destinations launched an experiment in political activism this week by urging their users to protest a pair of Hollywood-backed copyright bills in Congress.

Wikipedia's English-language pages went black at 9 p.m. PT Wednesday, with a splash page saying "the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet." The online encyclopedia's blackout, intended to precede a Senate floor vote on the legislation set for next week, was scheduled to last 24 hours.

Earlier today, Senate leaders announced they would … Read more

Things get real at Yahoo: Hiring freeze, job cuts may loom

Yahoo has frozen new hiring and may be forced to lay off existing employees, according to AllThingsD.

Word has reportedly come down not to fill the hundreds of job openings currently available as a first step toward cutting costs. As second step, layoffs of current support staff are expected to be "small and selective," though details are still being worked out.

After a year marked by weak quarterly revenue, takeover talk, and the ouster of former CEO Carol Bartz, Yahoo managed to deliver third-quarter results higher than forecast.

But Wall Street is once again anticipating shaky results when … Read more

Yahoo's Yang is gone. That was the easy part

Separating Jerry Yang from Yahoo is the easy part.

Yang co-founded the Internet pioneer 17 years ago along with David Filo, following the well-trodden path from Stanford student to tech stardom. But yesterday Yahoo announced Yang is leaving, stepping down from his "chief Yahoo" post and the company's board.

Yang has overseen, sometimes directly, years and years of weak performance as Yahoo squandered its early lead on the Web. That includes the 2008 drama in which Yang and Yahoo's board rebuffed Microsoft's $44.6 billion takeover offer, which in hindsight looks astoundingly generous.

So it'… Read more

Can the naysaying and give Jerry Yang his due

commentary Let the naysaying begin.

Now that Jerry Yang has severed his remaining ties with the company that he co-founded, the news cycle is not going to be especially kind recalling his legacy at Yahoo. Invariably, Yang is going to get called out for having blown a chance to sell Yahoo to Microsoft for more than $47 billion. For all his considerable talents, the critics will say, he was emotionally unable to let go even though every indicator was flashing a "sell" signal at the time, and he thus flubbed one of the biggest business opportunities in recent … Read more

Why Jerry Yang's resignation is a great, if belated, move

The resignation of Jerry Yang from Yahoo's board--as well as Yahoo Japan and Alibaba--removes an obstacle that could set the company up for a more dramatic restructuring. Shame Yang didn't split earlier.

In a letter to Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock, Yang wrote that he wanted "to pursue other interests." He added that he was enthusiastic about Scott Thompson as CEO.

The reality is that Yang should have gone years ago. In fact, Yang's decision to turn down an offer from Microsoft in 2009 was a fatal management move that was nearly impossible to recover from. … Read more

Yahoo announces Yang's resignation (statement)

Here's the full text of Yahoo's press release announcing co-founder Jerry Yang's resignation:

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--Yahoo! Inc., the premier digital media company, today announced that Jerry Yang has resigned from its Board of Directors and all other positions with the company, effective today. In addition, Yang resigned from the Boards of Yahoo Japan Corporation and Alibaba Group Holding Limited, effective today.

In a letter to the Yahoo! Board Chairman Roy Bostock, Yang wrote:

My time at Yahoo!, from its founding to the present, has encompassed some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life. However, … Read more

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang resigns from Web giant

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang has relinquished his board seat and "all other positions" with the beleaguered Web giant, the company announced this afternoon.

Two weeks ago, the company announced a new chief executive, Scott Thompson, though it's unclear if Yang's departure is related to that hire.

In a press release, Yang praised Thompson and said only that it is time for him to move on.

"The time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo," Yang said in a statement. "As I leave the company I co-founded nearly 17 years … Read more