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Digital
Yahoo! fire CEO
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 7 September 2011
The boss of flagging web firm Yahoo! has been fired, despite the company’s Chairman confirming his board’s support for the company’s current management at an AGM in June. Carol Bartz announced her sudden departure to her staff via a brief email that said, simply, “I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s chairman of the board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward”.
Bartz was brought into Yahoo! in 2009 in another attempt to turn around the fortunes of the web firm which, although still a big player in terms of traffic, has seen newer competitors, and especially Google and Facebook, increasingly dominate in terms of audience and advertising share.
It was hoped Bartz could succeed where her predecessor, Yahoo! founder Jerry Yang, had failed. But, despite initial high hopes, her leadership had come under increased criticism in investment circles, particularly since public bickering between Yahoo! and the management of the Alibaba Group, a Chinese company in which the web giant has a 40% stake. Yahoo! CFO Timothy Morse will fill in as CEO until a replacement can be found. Another restructure and possible downsizing is now expected, possibly even before a new CEO is appointed.
