Yahoo begins CEO search
— -- Wanted: a dynamic, enthusiastic leader for one of the Internet's most used properties, who can wow Wall Street and company employees again. Must be a specialist in quick turnarounds, and able to tout instant results.
That could be the help wanted ad for Yahoo, whose co-founder and CEO, Jerry Yang, said he would resign Monday.
His pending exit started an online guessing game on blogs of short-listers for the job. Names widely circulated online include former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller, and Dan Rosensweig, an ex-executive vice president of Yahoo.
Both declined comment. Yahoo says it has hired executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles to look for both internal and external candidates.
"The appointment will tell a lot about what the board wants to do," says Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray. "Do they want an outsider or insider? If they don't land a big name, it's probably a sign they're more open to selling the company."
Microsoft made an unsolicited bid for Yahoo in February, at $33 a share, but the deal fell apart when Yang said Yahoo was worth more.
Yahoo stock closed Tuesday at $11.55 a share. Yang never recovered on Wall Street for letting the deal slip away, says Munster.
The analyst believes Microsoft and Yahoo will come to terms within the next 10 months, now that Yang is leaving.
However, analyst Allen Weiner from Gartner believes a union is years away. Yahoo needs to recover first, instead of being sold at a fire sale price.
"The next CEO should be a young turk, a second or third in command who's learned the lessons of a successful company," he says.
Weiner mentions Jason Kilar, CEO of online video service Hulu, as a perfect example of the type of person Yahoo should seek out. Kilar worked at Amazon for a decade, and brought his experience to the NBC Universal and News Corp. owned venture.
"Yahoo is still a powerful force online," he adds. "What they're missing is a vision and leadership for the future."
Also missing: growth.
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