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SUNNYVALE, Calif., January 31, 2008 -- Yahoo! Inc., a leading global Internet company, today
announced that
Terry Semel, the Company's non-executive Chairman, will step down from
the Board of Directors, effective January 31, 2008. Semel initiated
discussions with the Board several months ago about stepping down from
the Chairman role once the Board was able to identify a successor. He
targeted the time of the January Board meeting for his departure, and
has worked closely with Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang and the
Board to ensure an orderly transition process since that time. Yahoo!
also announced today that Roy Bostock, who has been a member of the
Company's Board since May 2003, was unanimously elected by the Board to
serve as Yahoo!'s non-executive Chairman.
"Terry
Semel has been a great partner and true friend, and has played a key
role in helping to grow Yahoo!'s business - and industry-leading
audience - over the past seven years," said Yang. "He also has been a
tremendously valuable resource in recent months, as our new management
team developed and began to execute our strategic growth plans. On
behalf of the entire Board, I want to thank Terry for his many
contributions to Yahoo! over the years - and for helping to lay a firm
foundation for future success and improved financial performance."
Yang
continued, "Roy Bostock has offered tremendous insight and leadership
since joining the Yahoo! Board five years ago, and I believe he is
ideally suited to serve in this important role. Roy is an outstanding
executive who has decades of experience in the advertising industry -
an area that is more important than ever to Yahoo!'s business and our
long-term success. I am confident that Yahoo! will benefit from Roy's
unique and deep understanding of the Company and the many opportunities
that lie ahead."
"It has been an honor for me to
work with Yahoo!'s incredibly talented people over the past seven
years, and I'm proud of all that we've accomplished during that time,"
said Semel. "With the Company moving forward under new leadership, I
believe this is an appropriate time for me to step down from the Board.
With his deep Company and industry experience, Roy Bostock is uniquely
qualified to serve as Chairman, and I am delighted that he has agreed
to step into this role. I am confident that this great Company and its
strong leadership team will achieve even greater success in the months
and years to come, as the Internet - and Yahoo! - continue to evolve."
Bostock
said, "Yahoo! has tremendous assets and enormously talented people, and
I'm confident that the strategy Jerry and the management team has put
in place will position the Company to fully realize Yahoo!'s enormous
potential. I am pleased to be taking on this new and exciting role, and
I look forward to working closely with the entire senior management
team - as well as the Board of Directors - to continue executing those
plans to create substantial long-term value for our shareholders."
Semel
served as the Chairman and CEO of Yahoo! Inc. from 2001-2007 and was
responsible for increasing the Company's revenue nearly nine-fold as
well as creating $30 billion in shareholder value during his tenure. He
also helped to build its industry-leading audience from 170 million
users in 2001 to more than 500 million users in 2007, and significantly
expanded its strong and talented employee base. Semel became
non-executive chairman of Yahoo!'s board of directors in June 2007, and
has served as an advisor and important resource for the Company's
senior management team since that time.
Bostock has been a member of the Company's Board of
Directors since May 2003. He has extensive advertising and marketing
experience, having spent 38 years in a variety of senior level
positions in that industry. Bostock served as Chairman of BCom3 Group,
Inc., a global advertising agency group, from January 2000 to mid-2001.
From July 1990 to January 2000, Bostock served as Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles and its
successor Company, The MacManus Group, Inc., an advertising and
marketing services firm. Bostock is Chairman of the Partnership for a
Drug-Free America; he also serves on the board of Morgan Stanley and is
currently the chairman of the board of directors of Northwest Airlines
Corporation. Bostock holds a Bachelor's degree from Duke University and
an M.B.A. from Harvard University.
With these Board changes, Yahoo!'s
Board now is comprised of 10 members, nine of whom are independent directors.
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