Yahoo’s new CEO sure hasn’t been getting much respect, I’m not gonna link to the put-downs but you’ve probably seen them. I think most of these people don’t know Jerry. Back in the mid-Nineties, I got to know him pretty well when my then-employer Open Text had a Yahoo partnership. I quickly became convinced that even if he hadn’t stumbled into the Yahoo directory rocket-ride (it used to be a directory, anyone remember?) Jerry would have had a brilliant business career. He’s smart and a good communicator and open-minded and really understands the Web better than any dozen grizzled senior business types. In terms of generic-executive skills, probably he learned a lot from Semel and his predecessor Tim Koogle. I think a bet against Yahoo and Jerry might not be very smart right around now.
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From: Mark (Jun 24 2007, at 18:48)
I wonder if he's ever had any direct reports, or had a budget to make and meet.
Yang has tremendous credibility and influence both inside his company and without, but he would have been better off if he had humbled himself a bit and taken over a small part of Yahoo as a manager, and "worked his way up."
The way Yahoo developed, my impression is that Yang was quickly put in the figurehead/public face role, sitting in on meetings and going out giving lectures, which deprived him of the tough experiences that managers and general managers need to go through, however much aptitude they have.
(On the other hand Filo was down and dirty in the server rooms for quite a few years, which made him the richest sysad in the world.)
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