(Image source: Yahoo)
BY EVAN THOMAS
ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE
What is Yahoo! -- without Yang?
We’re about to find out.
Yahoo! announced yesterday co-founder Jerry Yang has resigned from the company’s board of directors.
A press release from Yahoo says Yang is leaving the company after a nearly 17-year run, where he served as CEO and as a member of the board.
CNET says Yang’s move is probably for the best.
“Yang was too emotionally tied to the company he co-founded. With Yang gone, Yahoo can better pursue a few options that may have clashed with its co-founder.”
And CNBC adds-- some are probably happy to see Yang go.
“This is particularly important news for activist investors like Third Point’s Dan Loeb, who had specifically wanted Yang to step down, seeing him as an impediment to restructuring there.”
Restructuring that could be much easier now, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“This wipes away the slate of players that have been at Yahoo over the last few years.... Yahoo’s new management arguably has a clean slate to start over.”
Business Insider says Yang is apparently leaving some rough patches behind.
“It looks like he just decided to walk away instead of fighting the endless battles inside and outside of Yahoo. There’s only so much crap a nice guy can take.”
But, as Wired says, there’s something to be said for a guy who stuck with his company through the dot-com rollercoaster.
“...Yang helped create one of the original dot-com wonders, one of a small handful of companies who weathered the bursting of the first bubble to become a global titan. This is a significant moment.”
Yang also left his positions on the boards of Yahoo Japan and Alibaba Group, some of Yahoo’s biggest Asian holdings. Yahoo’s stock jumped more than 3% on the news.
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