Request Media Kit

Yahoo Director Resigns After Discovery of False Credentials

The latest development in the Yahoo scandal over false credential is here and this time one of the parties involved has resigned their position. Patti Hart, who was listed in a letter to the board fro...
Yahoo Director Resigns After Discovery of False Credentials
Written by
  • The latest development in the Yahoo scandal over false credential is here and this time one of the parties involved has resigned their position. Patti Hart, who was listed in a letter to the board from activist investor Dan Loeb, has agreed to not stand for reelection at the upcoming annual meeting, according to All Things D.

    Both Hart and CEO Scott Thompson are under investigation by a private law firm hired by Yahoo to sort out the mess created by some misrepresented college degrees. Hart claimed she was an economics and marketing graduate from Illinois State College when in fact, she was a business administration major. Thompson claimed he was a computer science major when in reality he graduate from the school of accounting.

    On top of being part of the false credential scandal, she is also the main party involved with hiring Thompson, who joined Yahoo in the latter half of 2010. Given her lies on the bio and the yet-to-be determined fate of Thompson, she most likely thought it was a good idea to stay ahead of the axe and part ways before it became inevitable. The pressure is certainly on.

    Here’s a comments from the letter to the board from Loeb:

    “Third Point believes Mr. Thompson and Ms. Hart owe Yahoo!, its Board of Directors and its shareholders an explanation.”

    “Yahoo! shareholders should not have to wait until the (not yet scheduled) Annual Meeting for our nominees to begin the hard work of truly changing the Yahoo! Board.”

    I think it would be fair to assume Loeb pretty much knew how this whole thing would play out. After a couple days in the pressure cooker Thompson came forward last night to apologize for the undue tensions at the firm caused by the scandal, but he still hasn’t admitted any wrong doing on his behalf.

    Thompson Comments:

    “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.”

    So there could be more resignations on the way or we could see someone get fired over this. Either way, it doesn’t instill a lot of trust in the leadership at Yahoo or Thompson himself. We’ll be watching for more news to come out of this Yahoo scandal. Check back soon.

    Get the WebProNews newsletter delivered to your inbox

    Get the free daily newsletter read by decision makers

    Subscribe
    Advertise with Us

    Ready to get started?

    Get our media kit