Filling Yahoo's CEO vacancy

Prior to a Churchill Club event, I chatted with Kara Swisher about who she believes will succeed the deposed Jerry Yang as Yahoo CEO. From her BoomTown perch at All Things Digital Kara has been all over the story. She thinks that News Corp. Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin could be the man. Chernin has spent the last 12 years by the side of Rupert Murdoch and may be leaving his embrace. Kara also evaluates a number of other possible candidates in the video below and in this blog post.

Whoever takes the job will have to be capable of spiritually healing a wounded company. Too many talented people have left the tent, and he or she will need to attract and bring in first class replacements. Om Malik phrases what Yahoo needs in a CEO simply: "Look outside for someone with spark." Add to that criteria the ability to be decisive in short order and keep the Yahoo board from further compromising the future of company. Jerry Yang may be a co-founder and now former-CEO, but the board, which has been recently reconstituted with some fresh blood, has been pulling his strings.

[joebland101]

Maybe Yahoo should go to congress and ask for some money too.

[benjwah]

They'll need someone with vision. A vision of how to break it up piece by piece, sell it off and maximise shareholders return. Yahoo is over.

[docmurdock]

I think it shows a lack of vision and a lack of judgment to say that Yahoo is over. If it were over Microsoft could easily buy it up without concern of DOJ retribution. That's not possible as it would give Microsoft too much power. Sort of like when people thought Microsoft would purchase Apple back in the day. It could not happen due to monopoly rules and so they invested in Apple.

That's what needs to happen with Yahoo. I set up a page to talk about me being CEO of Yahoo. At least I have the chutzpah to ask for the position and there are many out there that know that I could actually execute on it.

Yahoo has a lot of promise and a lot of things that can be used to bring it back to a revenue generating company. It's advertising model needs a workover. It's technology needs to be licensed by many, and it needs a CEO with an attitude and a vision and passion for being in the chair. I am that person.

What you can do is tell anyone you know who invested in Yahoo that there is someone out there in the trenches who wants to come and fight to turn their investment from dust into something tangible once again. Then if they want to take their money out fine, but something tells me that when things get going, more will put money in than will want to take it out.

It's not about making your company valuable to the highest bidder. It's about creating shareholder value in such a way that people will continue to invest and help you and your company serve others. It's about being of service to others. That's something Yahoo forgot about. It became all about Yahoo and the investors, not about the employees and not about the clients. That's where the serious mistakes were made.

Microsoft can license. Just like the rest. They know it. They've just not been told by anyone with any real passion.

Here's the page: http://is.gd/82O7

Tell anyone you know in the media to get take a look at this. It's not a joke. I am serious and I can do the job.

Michael Murdock, CEO
DocMurdock.com
former Apple CEO Candidate 1997