Yahoo ousts Carol Bartz after just 30 months: Is a big deal on the way?
She was to be the woman exec who blew the cobwebs away and got the internet pioneer humming again. Sadly, it hasn't turned out that way.
Bartz send this blunt e-mail to staff saying she was on her way out:
To all,
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.
Carol
The website All Things Digital said the board, specifically chairman Roy Bostock and co-founder Jerry Yang, seems to have acted , informing Bartz of the need to make a change.
Yahoo’s senior staff were told in a call yesterday afternoon,that Bartz was out and that a search for a permanent CEO was beginning.
The website found it curious that Yahoo’s board did not name a new leader immediately and suggested it might indicate a larger deal involving Yahoo was around the corner.
When Yahoo announced in January 2009, that it had hired Bartz to replace outgoing CEO and co-founder Yang and turn around the company, there was much hope.
A Silicon Valley tech expert, she was well-regarded for running Autodesk. Said to have a "take-no-prisoners" image, she was seen as someone with a reputation as a professional manager who could clean up the place.
Not so, as it has turned out, said All Things Digital.
She has streamlined certain areas and made some strong management hires, but her performance has been "decidedly bumpy and mostly downhill".
The share price is about $12.50 (just about where it was when she took over), financial results have been weak, the advertising business is struggling, and the drop-off rate among engineers is said to be "startlingly high."
Still, Yahoo remains a giant in Internet traffic, top media sites and brands..
Sniffing around lately, according to reports, have been Silver Lake Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, former News Corp. exec Peter Chernin and Providence Equity Partners. Also reportedly interested -large companies: AT&T, and Verizon and - wait for it - News Corp.