Yang Hangs Up His Yahoo! Hat

Yahoo! Cofounder and former CEO Jerry Yang is quitting his seat on the portal's executive board and abandoning all of his roles (notably strategic) within the company. In addition, he is leaving the boards of Yahoo Japan and Alibaba, two companies in which Yahoo! owns stakes.

“My time at Yahoo!, from its founding to the present, has encompassed some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life," Yang wrote in his resignation letter to Chairman Roy Bostock. "However, the time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo! As I leave the company I co-founded nearly 17 years ago, I am enthusiastic about the appointment of Scott Thompson as Chief Executive Officer and his ability, along with the entire Yahoo! leadership team, to guide Yahoo! into an exciting and successful future."

Yang's departure closely follows the announcement of Thompson as CEO (replacing the seat left empty when Carol Bartz was unceremoniously canned in September) as well as a lot of rumors that Yang was trying to build up funds to take the company private again. His tenure as CEO from 3007 to 2009 will most likely be remembered for his refusal of a $47.5 billion takeover bid from Microsoft in 2008, a high multiple on Yahoo!'s valuation at the time. Subsequently, the company's stock price has dropped like a stone and layoffs have been seasonal.