(KEN MACHARIA) Jerry Yang, the co-founder of internet giant Yahoo! has resigned from the Board of Directors after serving Yahoo! in different capacities. Yang has also stepped down from Yahoo Japan Corp. and Alibaba, in which Yahoo! has shares. He co-founded Yahoo! in 1995 with David Filo.
“As I leave the company I co-founded nearly 17 years ago, I am enthusiastic about the appointment of Scott Thompson as Chief Executive Officer and his ability, along with the entire Yahoo! leadership team, to guide Yahoo! into an exciting and successful future,” Yang said.
Yang’s resignation is the latest of changes in the corporation that saw former CEO Carol Bartz hounded out of office, and replaced by Scott Thompson after a three month search for her replacement.
Yahoo!, which was one of the pioneering internet companies with search and content, has been struggling to find its footing after the entrance of Google’s search and email.
It was during Yang’s tenure as CEO that Yahoo! turned down a $47.5 billion takeover offer by Microsoft.
In a letter to Roy Bostock, the chairman of the Yahoo! board, Yang said “the time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo!”
However, Third Point LLC demanded two more seats on the board and asked Yang to step down as a director, according to Bloomberg. Third Point CEO Daniel Loeb cited the “board’s inability or unwillingness to properly solicit true strategic alternative bids, let alone negotiate them,” in a November statement.
