More speculation on Yahoo's CEO choices
Speculation about the choice for the new Yahoo CEO search continues in the wake of the layoffs Yahoo announced last week. And Kara Swisher continues her search for Jerry Yang's replacement, gathering picks from the raft of ex-Yahoo employees in her blog post today.
Some respondents said that a media mogul, such as Disney's Bob Iger or News Corp.'s Peter Chernin, is the right medicine for Yahoo. Former COO Dan Rosensweig comes up in the context of someone who could hit the ground running and has a product focus, as well as former Yahoo execs Jeff Weiner and Jeff Mallet. Others who surfaced were Yahoo board members, Vodafone's Arun Sarin, Microsoft and Google execs, and even Steve Jobs (Apple would buy Yahoo).
The Yahoo board clearly has many choices. The best pick will be someone who, like Jerry Yang, can bleed purple in terms of motivating the 10,000-plus employees, but also can unleash the potential of the products and services, and right-size the business. With leading news, finance, and communications services, and even profits, Yahoo is bent but not broken.
Dan Farber is editor in chief of CBS Interactive News, which includes CBSNews.com and CNET News. He has more than 25 years of experience as an editor and journalist covering technology. E-mail Dan. 
- It would give Apple a lot of good web assets to integrate with their current Mac/iPhone web services.
- It would provide Yahoo the disciplined and visionary leadership it needs.
- It would provide Apple another solid revenue source, assuming the restructuring/integration is successful.
- It would give Apple access to the hundreds of millions of current Yahoo users (Yahoo Mail, etc.) to promote Apple products.
- The Yahoo/Apple corporate cultures would mesh much more easily than the Yahoo/Microsoft cultures.
- Yahoo shareholders would win, since Apple stock is on an upswing (Microsoft stock is pretty much on a downswing).
- It would result in a more balanced competitive landscape (i.e. Apple/Google/Microsoft).
Yahoo has only scratched the surface of where they could go with what they have resources and talent-wise. But right now they're grasping at straws that are doing nothing for perpetuating what they're founded on.
A company without a dedicated, passionate, visionary CEO is like a horse without a head. The legs want to go one way, the body the other and neither are really falling into productive step.
Yahoo the company is multi-faceted on the surface. Deep down there's so much more that has yet to be tapped into. It merely needs the guidance of someone who's willing to take it there while still giving the investors some of what they crave. However, there's more than pleasing the investors that Yahoo has to be concerned about. If people stop coming to the portal there's a bigger problem. Trying to rebuild the customer base, the trust in the portal, the safety of the portal, the delivery of the speed of the portal these are just some areas where Yahoo needs refocusing.
For anyone reading this or any other comments you see on the net, please note: I am painting with a broad stroked brush my comments out here. I have plans for Yahoo that are so precise, but sharing them out in the open does nothing to help Yahoo. It only helps the competition. My one thought in all of this is Yahoo the company and how can I best help it out of this leaderless rut.
Maybe you know someone in the media with a voice that will step up, take a few minutes and realize that this is not a joke. I don't put my name out on the table for something like this unless I believe in it.
Step back to 1997. You read the SF GATE article about the Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison email. That was not a joke then about running for CEO of Apple. Being challenged by someone who works for Jobs to run against him is a bold step. It was costly for me. The amount of stock I left on the table when I left PIXAR in August of 1997 equated in today's dollars to right around 1 Million Dollars. I did what I did because I believed in my heart that Apple would benefit. Steve did go back and Apple has reaped rewards beyond its dreams at the point when Gil Amelio was CEO, and the customers have benefited as well as investors. The world is better technology-wise because of my decision. I have zero regrets and hold more respect for Steve than people will ever know.
So when was the last time you laid that much on the table for what you believe in? Is there any other CEO candidate for Yahoo that will do the same? I say no. Now all we need is the Yahoo Board to step up, take their bow, take Jerry, David, Sue, show them the door along with the rest of the Management team, and let's get to work making Yahoo a great company once again.
And maybe someone at CNET wants to chat about this and pick my brain for a bit. That might help wake some folks up that this is serious and that Yahoo's shareholders deserve a bit of a break. After all they've ridden the rollercoaster up and down and all around, now it's time for some smoother track.
Michael Murdock, CEO
DocMurdock.com
www.docmurdock.com/yahoo.htm
- by ThomasWhitney January 28, 2009 5:19 PM PST
- Whoever it is has to be someone above all things that can lead boldly into the night. Total darkness out there! We haven't a clue what we are up against in the future technologically and can you imagine what it will be like keeping up with just the extreme digital security issues ALONE! Whoever it is let's hope they take on the expertise of someone at the top of the food chain like Gemalto (http://www.justaskgemalto.com) at the very least. DONT GO AT IT ALONE!!!!
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