Guys Upstairs - Tech

Jerry Yang, the CEO of Yahoo, has stated in a company memo that he will be stepping down. He will be holding the position until a new CEO is selected, but will plan to remain actively involved as an executive and board member. Jerry Yang has held the position after taking over for Terry Semel in what has been a rough year and a half. The stock price for Yahoo has been in constant decline and Yang has botched more than one large deal.

Taking the position of CEO in June 2007, Yang developed a plan to help Yahoo compete against Google. There have been several major cuts in staff, including an Oct. 21announcement that 10% of the 15,000 staff would be let go. Microsoft made an offer for the company in February with a bid of $31 a share, much higher than the stock price of $19.18 at the time. After months of negotiations in which Yang wanted a much higher price, Microsoft withdrew their offer in May. Following the Microsoft fiasco, he made a deal with Google to display ads next to Yahoo search results. This was supposed to bring in $250 to $430 billion in the first year, but Google backed out earlier this month after pressure from regulators with concerns about antitrust issues. It has been said that without the Google deal Yahoo would have to strike a deal with Microsoft or merge with AOL. Yahoo and AOL have talked about a merger for months and with Yang stepping down Microsoft may be looking to make another deal.

Yahoo stock jumped more than 10% today, with a high of $12.40.

[NY Times]