November 18, 2008 by Matt Thomas
Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang is set to resign his post. Amidst a plummeting stock price and widespread predictions that the company are on the way out, at least as an independent entity, the 40-year-old’s position would appear to be untenable.
Jang has been in the job for under a year and a half though his tenure has been a troubled one. He has presided over a period of decline for the company which saw them turn down what was almost universally acknowledged to be a generous buyout offer from Microsoft, only to indicate they would like to reconsider a few months later, when Microsoft were no longer interested. The other major disaster of Jang’s reign was of course the abortive Yahoo-Google advertising deal deal which was unceremoniously blocked by the US justice Department after months of work and investment from both companies.
It is hoped that the departure may spark a new round of Microsoft talks, though Yahoo has lost a huge chunk of its market value over the last year or so. If Microsoft is interested, Jang’s legacy is likely to be a drastically reduced offer from the computer giant.
Jang remains acting CEO until Yahoo can find a replacement and will remain a member of the board.
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