Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang Could Further Ruin Company

By: Rob Adams
Staff Writer
Published: Nov 30, 2008

Yahoo shares soared on Friday after investor Carl Icahn increased his stake in the search engine company. Icahn made the decision to invest more in Yahoo after CEO Jerry Yang agreed to step down. Company shares are up nearly 9 percent.

Shares for Yahoo Inc increased by 9 percent on Friday after investor Carl Icahn increased his stake in the search engine company. Icahn made the decision to increase his shares after CEO Jerry Yang stepped down.

Yahoo may still face troubles depending on Yang's cooperation with a replacement CEO. For instance, a new CEO may find it difficult to work with the Yahoo co-founder if they are led into fear over decision making. The job may not appeal to candidates, especially if Yang takes out resentment.

Some analysts raised concerns last week indicating that there is potential for trouble.

"In the minds of Jerry, most of the board and employees, this is still Jerry's company," said Heath Terry, an analyst at Arlington, in a statement.

Most investors see Yahoo as having one last chance to survive. They need a strong and successful CEO to lead the company back into profitability. Investors feel that Yang's decision making is very poor, especially since the $44.5 billion acquisition from Microsoft. Yang told Microsoft that the company was worth more than the bid price.

The acquisition was rejected by Yang which has led to multiple company employee layoffs ever since. Yahoo has also lost 60 percent of its value since the Microsoft bid.

Yang, 40, has made statements in recent weeks that are confusing and do not coincide with his decision making. Two weeks ago, Yang made a statement that it would be in Microsoft's best interest to buy Yahoo. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said his company is no longer interested in buying Yahoo.