Report: Yahoo CEO to step down amid resumé miscue
In this Nov. 15, 2010, file photo, Scott Thompson speaks at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. The Wall Street Journal's technology blog AllThings D is reporting Sunday, May 13, 2012, that Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson will step down. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
NEW YORK — Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson reportedly will step down Sunday amid controversy over mentions on his resume and in regulatory filings of a computer science degree he never received.
The Wall Street Journal’s technology blog AllThings D cited “multiple” unnamed sources close to the situation in reporting that the Internet giant will say Thompson is stepping down for personal reasons and will appoint another executive as interim CEO.
The board also will appoint three new members and select a new chairman on Sunday, the Journal reported.
A Yahoo Inc. spokeswoman did not immediately return a call for comment.
The Associated Press previously reported that Thompson told his colleagues that he didn’t supply the incorrect information.
The Journal said Sunday that the Chicago headhunting firm, Heidrick & Struggles, which Thompson blamed for the bogus information, has denied the claim in an internal memo. Officials from Heidrick & Struggles didn’t immediately return calls for comment.
The Journal said Yahoo’s board will appoint the company’s global media head, Ross Levinsohn, as interim CEO.
The incoming board members reportedly to be selected Sunday are three of those nominated by Daniel Loeb, an activist shareholder and manager of hedge fund Third Point.
Loeb discovered the resume discrepancy and has demanded that Thompson be fired.
The flap over Thompson’s incorrect bio earlier claimed its first casualty – Patti Hart, the Yahoo director who oversaw the search that culminated in his hiring. Hart is to step down at Yahoo’s still-unscheduled annual meeting later this year.
