Yahoo! Director Resigns over CEO Resume Bungle
Tech giant Yahoo! seems to stumble from crisis to crisis, but the news breaking this month that their CEO Scott Thompson had lied on his resume perhaps tops the list.
It emerged that Thompson claimed on his resume that he held a degree in computing, when in reality his degree was in accounting instead.
The resume problem was uncovered and made public by activist investor Dan Loeb and his hedge fund Third Point. Thus far however Thompson has remained in his post. Alas the same cannot be said for the board member that was supposed to vet him before his appointment.
Bloomberg revealed that Yahoo! board member Patti Hart is to leave the board of the web company. The official line is that her departure is due to pressure from IGT, for whom she is CEO, who worry that this could distract her from her role at the company, but her lack of due diligence when hiring Mr Thompson must surely have played a part.
“My primary responsibilities are to serve as chief executive officer of IGT and to eliminate activities that may interfere with my ability to carry out my commitments to IGT and its valued stakeholders.” Hart said in the statement.
Third Point has put a lot of pressure on the company to also remove Mr Thompson in the past week, with the board set to embark on a review of the matter.
“This was a flawed process,” said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners in New York who has a hold rating on the stock and doesn’t own it. “What’s happening is that Third Point’s case — that the board is not functioning effectively — has been strengthened.”
In a statement confirming Hart’s planned exit as a director, the Yahoo board said, “we thank Patti for her years of service and wish her all the best.”
Follow Technorati