Christopher Heine

Yahoo's Scott Thompson Resigns

  |  May 13, 2012   |  Comments

Yahoo announced on Sunday that CEO Scott Thompson stepped down, only four months into a tenure that appeared dedicated to improving the Internet company's stature as an ad platform. While the company cited "personal reasons," a resume discrepancy that emerged late last week seemed to be at the center of his abrupt departure.

scottthompson-0061Thompson's resume, at one point, wrongly stated he had received an accounting and computer science degree from Stonehill College in 1979; he in fact only received a degree in accounting. Third Point, a Yahoo investor, brought the error to light and its CEO Daniel Loeb wrote that Thompson had "embellished his academic credentials."

The 54-year-old later apologized, but it appears to have been too little, too late, as Yahoo's board moved on Sunday by naming Ross Levinsohn interim CEO. And Fred Amoroso will replace Roy Bostock as board chairman, the Sunnyvale, CA-based company announced.

For advertisers curious about whether Thompson could return Yahoo to past glory, it seems now that they'll never know. During the two earnings calls in his short tenure, Thompson emphasized how he'd personally speak with brands and agencies to improve their ad campaigns.

"We are not going to be satisfied until we are taking [ad] share," the then-CEO said, less than one month ago while addressing Q1 2012 numbers. Thompson, at the time, wanted marketers to know that he planned to focus on bringing "the best return on their advertising spend. And frankly we got a long ways to go."

ClickZ & Efectyv MarketingConvergence Analytics: Digital Measurement in Transition
This joint report by ClickZ and Efectyv Marketing seeks to identify how the evolution of digital analytics affects and challenges practitioners, vendors, and investors. Download it today!

COMMENTSCommenting policy

comments powered by Disqus

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christopher Heine was a senior writer for ClickZ through June 2012. He covered social media, sports/entertainment marketing, retail, and more. Heine's work has also appeared via Mashable, Brandweek, DM News, MarketingSherpa, and other tech- and ad-centric publications. USA Today, Bloomberg Radio, and The Los Angeles Times have cited him as an expert journalist.

Get ClickZ Media newsletters delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe today!

COMMENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS

WEBINARS

e-Learning Courses

Jobs

    • Digital Marketing Manager
      Digital Marketing Manager (Ready Set Rocket) - New York  Ready Set Rocket is seeking an experienced online marketer to join our team as the...
    • Display Media Buyer
      Display Media Buyer (Centerfield Media) - El Segundo   Centerfield Media is an online performance marketing organization specializing in...
    • Search Engine Media Buyer
      Search Engine Media Buyer (Centerfield Media) - El Segundo Centerfield Media is an online performance marketing organization specializing in lead...