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Tag: Ross Levinsohn

  • Yahoo Loses Another CEO (Not Marissa Mayer)

    Earlier this month, long-time Googler Marissa Mayer assumed the role of Yahoo CEO, a position that many thought would go to Ross Levinsohn, who took over as interim CEO following the departure of Scott Thompson earlier this year.

    Levinsohn is actually now leaving the company. Kara Swisher at All Things D broke the news, and shared regulatory documents about it, as well as a leaked internal memo from Mayer.

    Mayer said, “Ross has been an important and powerful contributor at Yahoo since he joined in 2010. During May and June, Ross stepped into an incredibly tough role as interim CEO and did a terffic job — he really helped keep the company moving, closed important deals, and assembled a very talented team. I am very grateful to Ross for his leadership and work throughout his tenure at Yahoo. His contributions will be missed.”

    Levinsohn will no longer be part of Yahoo after today. As he leaves, he is getting 67,000 shares of the company, 250,000 stock options at $15.80, a cash severance that equals a year’s salary, and his target annual bonus. Last year, his salary was $1.2 million, and the bonus was about $3 million). On top of that, as Search Engine Land notes, Yahoo has agreed to a year of accelerated vesting of his past equity awards.

    In other Yahoo news, the company’s browser Axis (launched under Levinsohn), just got some updates for iOS.

    Image: AllThingsD Video (YouTube)

  • It Looks Like Yahoo Has Found Its CEO

    It Looks Like Yahoo Has Found Its CEO

    First of all, there’s no official word yet, but it does look like Yahoo may have found its new CEO: current interim CEO Ross Levinsohn.

    Yesterday, it was reported that Yahoo had narrowed its search for a CEO down to two people: Levinsohn and Hulu CEO Jason Kilar. It appears that Kilar isn’t interested.

    Now, Business Insider’s Owen Thomas says he’s received confirmation from Hulu that Kilar has declined the position, sharing the following statement:

    As has been reported, Jason Kilar has been a focus of the Yahoo CEO search committee. He has graciously declined to be considered.

    Given Yahoo’s track record of CEO success, it’s not hard to believe Kilar might be more interested in continuing to run Hulu.

    If Yahoo does end up going with Levinsohn, it will be quite interesting to see how Yahoo’s strategy shifts (if at all). Yahoo has made some of its most significant announcements in search in recent months (such as its newly revamped image and video search features, and of course, its mobile browser Axis).

    We’ll also be interested to see if Yahoo’s search deal with Microsoft plays out, as there have been rumors that the deal will fall apart prematurely, ahead of its ten-year commitment.

    In other Yahoo news, it appears the company and Facebook have made peace over patents.

    Image: AllThingsD Video (YouTube)

  • Yahoo’s Reconditioned Board will Reconvene Next Week

    Yahoo and their board of directors have been through a lot lately. Most recently they have lost their CEO, Scott Thompson after a brutal proxy battle with activist shareholder Dan Loeb.

    They have also lost Pati Hart, co-founder Jerry Yang, and longtime chairman, Roy Bostock.

    Next week, the Yahoo board of director will reconvene, but with a fresh configuration and several new faces. Fred Amoroso is now chairman of the board. Shareholder Dan Loeb also has a seat, as does Michael Wolf of MTV fame, and Harry Wilson, well known turnaround specialist.

    You might also recall, Ross Levinsohn has been acting as interim CEO. And while Levinsohn has been actively pursuing strategies and solutions to steady Yahoo and drag it back from the brink of extinction, one of the central themes of next week’s board meeting will be to decide what to do with him. Should Yahoo cement Levinsohn in his current position as CEO, or pursue new leadership?

    Aside from the decision they must make about a CEO, they must also decide what to do with Facebook and their patent dispute. Despite the resignation of Thompson, apparently negotiations are ongoing.

    Also of interest, the board will be discussing what to do with assets from the selloff of its stake in Alibaba. Certainly Loeb, whose main goal is to unlock the shareholder value in Yahoo, will want a piece of that action.

    And finally, the board must decide if they intend to sell their ad tech business to Google. Months ago, Google made their first offer to buy the properties, but talks are still inconclusive.

    So, next week’s meeting should be interesting for the newly configured board, and a good indicator of how things are going to function over at Yahoo from now on. We’ll keep you up to date on Yahoo’s plans going forward.

  • Yahoo Ready to Find Replacement CEO

    Yahoo is ready to start searching for a new CEO. As you may recall, Scott Thompson resigned after a rather lengthy proxy battle with activist investor Dan Loeb a his investment firm, Third Point.

    The surprising climax of that battle was the unearthing of a critical oversight on then current CEO, Scott Thompson’s credentials, claiming he held a computer science degree when he indeed, did not.

    Thompson chose to resign rather than continue on with a tarnished record. Executive Vice President, Ross Levinsohn then stepped in as acting interim CEO. While Levinsohn may be the frontrunner for the job, Yahoo is none the less starting their search for Thompson’s permanent replacement.

    In fact, Levinsohn isn’t wasting any time, and has already moved forward with plans to get the company back on track. His first priority is to divest several assets to build up some cash cash flow.

    Next, he needs to go into damage control from the Thompson scandal, and tie up the loose ends from the current Facebook lawsuit over patent infringement. Finally, he needs to win back his former media buyers and focus on making advertising and brands a key financial component of the Yahoo business model.

    My guess would be, if Levinsohn can accomplish any of this in the short term, he will be the permanent CEO at Yahoo. Can he actually get it done? Nobody knows. Yahoo isn’t in a real great position right now, so any headway would be an improvement. We’ll keep you updated.

  • Yahoo CEO Faces More Legal Troubles

    Yahoo CEO Faces More Legal Troubles

    Ross Levinsohn, interim CEO of Yahoo, is facing more than just the continuing patent struggle with Facebook in terms of lawsuits. According to TechCrunch, This week could see a decision in a case that has Levinsohn as the defendant. The case accuses Levinsohn and other investors of fraud, breach of Contract and 10 other accusations.

    It was brought forth by Kate Paley, the daughter of CBS’s William Paley, against Radar Networks, a company that Paley had invested $5 million in, in 2007. She claims that she saw no return on her investment, and shady business practices were to blame.

    Levinsohn was on the board of directors at Fuse Capital, which invested in Radar Networks. Other investors in the mix include Steve Hall, MD of Vulcan Capital, and Nova Spivack. Paley says they are all to blame for her not seeing anything come from her investment.

    Levinsohn and company are seeking to claim bankruptcy for Radar Networks, which will happen June 8th. Paley’s case hangs on the courts decision in this matter right now. If they are allowed bankruptcy, Paley’s case cannot be pursued. If the motion for bankruptcy is denied, the case will go to trial.

    Both parties have been involved in settlement negotiations, but each time no resolution was reached. Sources at TechCrunch say that Levinsohn and fellow defendants see this lawsuit as nothing more than a nuisance, lacking any real merit.

    Radar Network is likely to be allowed bankruptcy, and it is unlikely that its investors would have willingly let the company go under, on either side of the dispute. It is an awkward situation for Levinsohn, however. Being on the attacking end of a patent infringement lawsuit on one front and being accused of fraud on another cannot bode well for Yahoo’s CEO.

  • Yahoo Elects New Leadership as Thompson Steps Down

    As I reported earlier today, Scott Thompson has decided to step down at Yahoo as CEO citing recently discovered health problems as the main reason. Some may say it comes at very convenient time as he was actively trying to sidestep accusations that he purposefully provided false academic credentials both at his previous job at PayPal and for the position of acting CEO at Yahoo.

    The accusations came in the form of as a letter from Yahoo activist shareholder Dan Loeb and his investment firm Third Point. They have been fighting for more control at the Yahoo board of directors since the current leadership passed over on a deal with Microsoft which could have made shareholders a lot of money.

    Today Yahoo has announced new leadership to their board and a new chief executive officer. Effective immediately Ross Levinsohn will stand as the interim CEO and Fred Amoroso will hold the position of Chairman on the Yahoo Board of Directors. Amoroso replaces Roy Bostock, who recently agreed to step down from his role in order to accelerate the changes at Yahoo.

    The appointments are part of a settlement with Third Point and also includes the addition of Daniel S. Loeb, Harry J. Wilson, and Michael J. Wolf to the Yahoo board. Board members Patti Hart, VJ Joshi, Arthur Kern and Gary Wilson have also agreed to resign their positions at the firm early to make room for the new members.

    Fred Amoroso, new chairman of the board of directors comments on the changes at Yahoo:

    “The Board is pleased to announce these changes and the settlement with Third Point, and is confident that they will serve the best interests of our shareholders and further accelerate the substantial advances the Company has made operationally and organizationally since last August. The Board believes in the strength of the Company’s business and assets, and in the opportunities before us, and I am honored to work closely with my fellow directors and Ross to continue to drive Yahoo! forward,”

    “On behalf of the entire Board, I would also like to thank Patti, VJ, Arthur, Gary and, in particular, Roy, for their dedicated long-term service and contributions to the Board and Yahoo!.”

    Daniel S. Loeb of Third Point comments on his addition to the Yahoo board:

    “Harry, Michael and I are delighted to join the Yahoo! Board and work collaboratively with our fellow directors to foster a culture of leadership dedicated to innovation, excellence in corporate governance, and responsiveness to users, advertisers and partners. We are confident this Board will benefit from shareholder representation, and we are committed to working with new leadership to unlock Yahoo!’s significant potential and value.”

    Third Point Director Nominee Jeff Zucker adds to the sentiment:

    “I have been supportive of Third Point’s efforts since Daniel asked me to join the slate. When I became aware of Yahoo!’s offer of three board seats to Third Point, I approached Daniel and let him know that I would be happy to step aside to quickly facilitate a settlement. I believe that it is in Yahoo!’s best interests to avoid a prolonged proxy fight and have new board members immediately to help move the company forward. While there is clearly much work to be done, this is the right combination of talented executives to do just that.”

    There’s in no word yet on if Yahoo will fight now resigned CEO Thompson’s claim that he is leaving on account of medical issues. Disputing the claim could save Yahoo millions of dollars in severance pay. Yahoo’s code of ethic requires that each employee be responsible for the accurate listing of their biographical information.

    So it looks like the layoffs were only the beginning of the changes at Yahoo. No doubt this new board will be introducing some drastic deviations from Thompson’s original plan of action for the rest of 2012. We’ll keep you posted as things continue to evolve over at Yahoo.

  • Yahoo CEO Resigns and Third Point Wins Proxy Battle

    Last week was a tough one at Yahoo. It started early in the week with CEO Scott Thompson trying to sidestep direct accusations that he purposefully introduced false academic credentials that showed he held a computer science degree. Claiming that it must have been some sort of oversight, he apologized to the Yahoo staff and urged them to get on with business as usual.

    Despite Thompson’s claim of an oversight, Yahoo did their due diligence and began an investigation of how the false computer science degree appeared in Thompson’s bio and many other documents dating back to his years at Ebay/ PayPal. Although nothing official has yet come out of the investigation, many with knowledge of the scandal were calling for Thompson to step down and alleviate the stressful environment that has been manifesting since the proxy battle began with the Yahoo board and their largest shareholder, Dan Loeb and his investment firm Third Point.

    As the pressures mounted throughout the week it looks like Thompson devised a plan to escape seemingly unscathed. Yesterday morning, All Things D reported that Thompson has discovered he is suffering from an undisclosed health issue and has offered his resignation as CEO at Yahoo.

    If you remember last week, The Yahoo board also accepted the resignation of Patti Hart who was also involved in the false credential scandal. Hart, who was a director on the board, agreed not to stand for reelection after it was revealed that she claimed to hold a degree in economics and marketing when in fact, she was actually a business administration major.

    No doubt these resignations are being celebrated by Loeb and Third Point. They have been fighting for change on the Yahoo board ever since Yahoo passed over on a deal with Microsoft which would have made shareholders a lot of money. At the time, Loeb demanded that he be elected to the Yahoo board. Thompson and the current board members did not agree and this is when the proxy battle kicked into high gear.

    Now we are again looking at some major changes at Yahoo. This all comes at a very bad time for the Silicon Valley firm who just introduced huge layoffs and a giant reorganization of their operations at the beginning of last month. Watch for more updates on the happenings at Yahoo as the day unfolds.

  • Buzz Names Ross Levinsohn As New Yahoo Exec

    A man with a very interesting history when it comes to social media and tech investments may soon be brought in to replace a high-ranking exec at Yahoo.  Rumor has it Hilary Schneider, EVP, Americas Region will step aside in order to make room for Ross Levinsohn.

    Remember Levinsohn?  He used to work for Fox Interactive Media, and is credited with making the then-smart decision to purchase MySpace.  Plus, more recently, he’s been involved with some venture funds, perhaps gaining exposure to important up-and-coming companies.

    In any event, Kara Swisher reported earlier today, "While the deal is not completely struck, sources said Levinsohn is very close to taking the job. . . .  Sources added, if he does, he is likely to remain living in Los Angeles, where he has long been located."

    YahooSwisher also wrote, "It’s likely Yahoo will hire a major ad sales exec to work under Levinsohn, and sources said the company has been in contact with several prominent execs to fill the slot left open with the March departure of Joanne Bradford to Demand Media."

    So look for big and potentially exciting changes to occur at Yahoo in the near future.

    Goodness knows Carol Bartz needs to stir up more enthusiasm, given all the recent talk about replacing her.

    UPDATE: Levinsohn’s new role is official now.