Jerry Yang memo to staff about stepping down

Here is the full text from Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang about his decision to step down to his earlier role as Chief Yahoo.

From: Jerry Yang

Sent: Monday, November 17, 2008 5:03 PM

Subject: update

yahoos -

i wanted to address all of you on the news we've just announced. the board of directors and I have agreed to initiate a succession process for the ceo role of yahoo!. roy bostock, our chairman of the board, is leading the effort to identify and assess potential candidates for consideration by the full board. the board will be evaluating and considering both internal and external candidates and has retained heidrick and struggles to help in this effort.

i will be participating in the search for my successor, and i will continue as ceo until the board selects a new ceo. once a successor is named, i will return to my previous role as chief yahoo and continue to serve as a director on the board.

last june, i accepted the board's request that i assume the ceo role to restructure and reposition the company as a whole in order to more effectively meet the fast-changing needs of both users and partners. since taking on the ceo role, i have had an ongoing dialogue with the board about succession timing. thanks in large measure to your tireless efforts, we have created a more open, competitive yahoo! and we believe the time is now right to transition to a new ceo who can take the company to the next level.

despite the external environment we face, the fact remains that yahoo! is now a significantly different company that is stronger in many ways than it was just 18 months ago. this only makes it all the more essential that we manage this opportunity to leverage the progress up to this point as effectively as possible. i strongly believe that having transformed our platform and better aligned costs and revenues, we have a unique window for the right ceo to take ownership over the next wave of mission-critical decisions facing the company.

all of you know that I have always, and will always bleed purple. i will always do what I think is right for this great company. while this step will be an adjustment for all of us, i know it's the right one. i look forward to updating you on this process as soon as the board has developments to share, and will continue to do everything i can to make yahoo! fulfill its full potential.

thank you,

jerry

See also:
• Yahoo CEO Yang to step down
• Yahoo's ultimate search: A new CEO
• Yang's travails: A Yahoo timeline
• A pity for Yahoo that John McCain didn't win
• Microhoo revisited: Would it be a search-only deal?

[close5828]

After he said "....the best thing for Microsoft to do is buy Yahoo", this guy had to go.

[cchenoweth6]

I adore the way this guy uses all lowercase in his letters. I'm surprised he made it out of the second grade.

[Galaxy5]

I don't think his use of lowercase letters goes to his intelligence, but unfortunately, it speaks volumes about his poor professionalism.

[RoderickStJohn]

Mssrs Bostock:and Yang:

May I suggest John Donahoe.

Please.

Pretty please?

Oh god please?

[stuxstu]

Good, now Microsoft can buy Yahoo. Yang screwed the investors who own the company. How many had to loose their jobs, how many good intelligent managers left over the last two years, and how many users went to Google before Jerry realized he sucks as CEO.

I hope Microsoft buy Yahoo and AOL to balance out the internet search and Ad services. Microsoft is the only major tech company that can balance or really remove Google's monopoly.

Competition breeds excellence and Yahoo combined with Microsoft could compete with Google.

[JoeF2]

You seem to forget that he is one othe investors who own the company.
Also, it is "lose", not "loose". English is a hard language, I know...
And finally, if "competition breeds excellence," Yahoo should have been quite excellent...

[svetylko]

Oh come on, JoeF2, it's so easy to discredit someone's argument by picking on typos and spelling errors. But I for one agree wholeheartedly with stuxstu. I mean, read that memo and listen to all the posturing -- don't you ever wish that just for once one of these guys would tell the truth? "Dear Stakeholders, I'm stepping down because I robbed you all of a good deal because I was still living my upstart Silicon Valley glory days and fighting the powers that be, all the while forgetting that I'm not a kid anymore, and this company I started has shareholders who might have considered the sale of this asset a good deal." Because it was a good deal. And he blew it. It just gets so old - I mean, who does he think he's kidding? Heck, I've spent most of my career creating corporate culture by pretending the truth is something other than it is, and even I'm sick of it now. Will anyone ever just tell it like it is?

[Alex Alexzander]

Buying yahoo is a complete waste of money. Just let them die.

Alex

[benjwah]

He tanks the stock and he can't even spare the time to utilise basic grammar.

[wango2007]

Ya, the "right ceo to take ownership over the next wave of mission-critical decisions" will be Steve Ballmer.... after Microsoft buys Yahoo at $5/share.