Yahoo! Names Semel as CEO
Yahoo! Inc., has named former Warner Bros. executive Terry Semel to replace Tim Koogle as chairman and CEO effective May 1.
Koogle will be named vice chairman, a position he is expected to retain until August, and will continue after that on Yahoo!’s board of directors, the company said today.
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| Terry Semel, Yahoo!’s new CEO |
The news comes as Yahoo struggles to cope with the downturn in the economy and a huge drop in Internet advertising. Earlier this month, Yahoo posted its second straight net loss, $11.5 million in the first quarter compared with a profit of $67.6 million in the comparable period of 2000, and said it is cutting 12% of its work force.
Yahoo’s stock price has also suffered, with shares closing Monday at $17.62 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, well off the company’s 52-week high of $150.
Semel served as co-chief executive of AOL Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. unit from 1994 until he left in 1999 after several years of expensive box-office flops, according to news reports. After leaving Warner Bros., Semel founded Windsor Media Inc., an investment company.
Jordan Rohan, an analyst at Wit SoundView, was quoted in a news report. What is “surprising is the choice of somebody who is ingrained in old media for so long,” Rohan said. “It does suggest a different direction for Yahoo, one where they create content.” Wit SoundView has a “hold” rating on Yahoo shares.
