June 19, 2007 7:12 AM PDT

Say what? Yang's right as Yahoo's CTO, Semel says

by Jonathan Skillings
  • Font size
  • Print
  • 1 comment

When word came Monday that Jerry Yang was replacing the embattled Terry Semel as CEO of Yahoo, we couldn't help flashing back all the way to last week to the company's annual shareholders meeting.

Jerry Yang

(Credit: Yahoo)

It couldn't have been a happy occasion for Semel, who was on the spot to defend Yahoo's performance, its executive pay packages (that is, his own very generous compensation), the unexpected departure of Chief Technology Officer Farzad Nazem, and on and on.

On that date, Yang was serving as the interim CTO, so one shareholder asked whether the Yahoo co-founder--long known as Chief Yahoo, along with co-founder David Filo--should be appointed to that post permanently.

The now ironic reply from Semel, just six days before Yang took his job in the corner office: "If Jerry would think hard about being our CTO, I would be very flattered and honored."

Funny how things work out sometimes.

Jonathan Skillings is managing editor of CNET News, based in the Boston bureau. He's been with CNET since 2000, after a decade in tech journalism at the IDG News Service, PC Week, and an AS/400 magazine. He's also been a soldier and a schoolteacher. E-mail Jon.
Recent posts from News Blog
Nvidia puts NForce chipset development on hold
Opera 10 browser is here
Neil Young Archives Blu-ray: Rip off?
Acronis revises survey results about backup habits
Acronis miscalculates data on users' bad backup habits
Flickr co-founder presses beta button
Comcast, Sony open retail store
Cox to try coaxing the Internet into submission
Add a Comment (Log in or register)
Talk about digging yourself out of a grave
by taylor1277 June 19, 2007 11:10 AM PDT
Wow i dont know much about Yang,but i can say since the first time ive laid eyes on Yahoo ive seen its disasterous fall.There are other sites like this on the internet where founders of the site bring us these websites and then they sell them off to people who totally destroy them.One other site people dont realize that is headed this way is Reunion.com.The people that run this site after the founder (forgot name) sold the website it has and will slowly decay more and more.If your not aware of this at Cnet please find my email and i will explain.Getting back to Yahoo now i see why Yahoo Photos is actually being sold its one of the fastest and easiest photo sites on the internet,id like to know where Semel it too.This guy has done nothing with Yahoo but fatten his pockets.Well good luck Yang i hope you understand the road that lays in front of you is about as long as it stretches from hell to heaven.
Reply to this comment
advertisement
Click Here

15 sites that went kaput in 2009

Web sites launch all the time, but they also shut their doors. We highlight 15 that bit the dust this year.

Top 10 news stories of the decade

Let the debate begin: Was the iPhone more important than iTunes? Was anything bigger than Google finding a great business model? CNET offers its list of the 10 most important stories of the '00s.

About News Blog

Recent posts on technology, trends, and more.

Add this feed to your online news reader

advertisement
advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right