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Scott Thompson is Sorry About the Disruption

I am sure by now you have heard that the proxy battle between the Yahoo board of directors and activist shareholder Dan Loeb and his firm Third Point has gotten a little ugly for the leadership over a...
Scott Thompson is Sorry About the Disruption
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  • I am sure by now you have heard that the proxy battle between the Yahoo board of directors and activist shareholder Dan Loeb and his firm Third Point has gotten a little ugly for the leadership over at Yahoo. Essentially he caught CEO Scott Thompson and another member of the staff passing off false credentials on their company biographies.

    To make matters worse Thompson completely ignored the issue except to say the Yahoo board was investigating the claims. Of course this left the door wide open for gossip and chatter. The infamous letter from Loeb and Third Point calls for action on behalf of the Yahoo board and more specifically, calls for Thompson to account for the false computer science degree listed on his bio.

    As you may recall, Kara Swisher over at All Things D has been keeping in close communication with the folks over at Yahoo and last night she reported that Thompson issued a sort of apology to the staff. By sort of, I mean he didn’t actually come out and apologize for any wrong doing, but rather apologized for the disruption the debacle has caused. So he’s still skirting the issue: Did he or did he not intentionally lie about a computer science degree?

    Take a look at a few key segments from Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson’s memo to the folks over at Yahoo:

    “As I told you on Friday, the board is reviewing the issue and I will provide whatever they need from me. In the meantime, I want you to know how deeply I regret how this issue has affected the company and all of you.”

    ‘We have all been working very hard to move the company forward, and this has had the opposite effect. For that, I take full responsibility, and I want to apologize to you.”

    “I know the board plans to conduct the review thoroughly and independently, and I respect that process. I am hopeful that this matter will be concluded promptly.”

    “We need to continue to act as one team to fulfill the potential of this great company and keep moving forward. You have my word that all my energy and attention will be on that mission.”

    Certain members of the online community have been vocalizing their opinion on what the right path for Thompson should be, more specifically, Richard Rosenblatt believes the Yahoo CEO should apologize and resign his position. I’ve already heard from many who wrote in to tell us that they agree with Rosenblatt, but we have also heard from others who believe Loeb is a bully and that the board and Yahoo leadership should stand up to him. Tell us what you think.

    In the meantime, Loeb is calling for all the documents surrounding Thomson’s hire over at Yahoo be brought forward and scrutinized for more evidence that he is not a suitable leader.

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