Yahoo! shareholders back revamped board

Advertisement
By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 13 July 2012 12:25 IST
Yahoo! shareholders on Thursday endorsed the struggling Internet firm's overhauled board of directors and called for a fresh plan to compete against rivals such as Google and Facebook.

Voting at the California company's annual gathering of stockholders took only minutes, with the 11 members of the Yahoo! board approved along with a set of proposals that included compensation for top executives.

Eight of the directors have been on the board for less than six months and were added as the result of a battle with activist investor Daniel Loeb, who won seats for himself and selected allies.

There was no announcement about a new chief executive despite intense speculation that interim CEO Ross Levinsohn would be tapped for the job.

"The past year has been one of significant change among the leadership of the company," Levinsohn told shareholders at the gathering in a hotel near the company's headquarters in the city of Sunnyvale.

"We have made meaningful progress to move Yahoo! forward."

The progress included partnerships with major television and radio companies as well as online music service Spotify, said Levinsohn.

Yahoo! boss Scott Thompson was ousted less than two months ago in the face of controversy about an inflated resume, resulting in a truce in a proxy war with shareholder Loeb.

"In the last five to 10 years, we have missed some serious opportunities to monetize online properties including search and that has disappointed shareholders," a stockholder told Levinsohn during the meeting.

Levinsohn repeated the vision of becoming a "premier digital media company" that capitalizes on its audience of approximately 700 million monthly visitors through advertising on content ranging from finance to celebrity gossip.

"A strategy based on becoming the world's biggest tabloid is not sustainable," complained a shareholder during a question-and-answer session with executives.

"You are behind the ball, and you've been behind the ball regardless of which CEO show up," he continued. "As a consumer I have given up on this company."

Levinsohn countered that the strategy of combining high-quality content from partners with Yahoo! generated programming -- the company launched its own White House bureau for US election coverage -- shows promise.

"I am enthusiastic about what we can achieve," Levinsohn said. "We are working hard to expand the content and programming we offer our users on every screen and the ability of advertisers to reach the users they covet."

Yahoo! told shareholders that they would be the beneficiaries of at least $4 billion the company expects to receive later this year as a result of a deal to sell a chunk of its stake in Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba.

Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.

Further reading: Yahoo, Yahoo Board, Yahoo Shareholders
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Motorola Edge 70 Launched With Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 SoC, Slim 5.99mm Profile
  2. Moto G67 Power 5G Launched in India With 7,000mAh Battery: See Price
  3. Lava Agni 4 Price Range, Features Leaked; Will Launch in These Colourways
  4. OnePlus Ace 6 Pro Max Configurations Leaked; May Feature Up to 16GB of RAM
  5. Moto G Play (2026), Moto G (2026) With Dimensity 6300 SoC Launched
  6. Apple's Low-Cost MacBook Launch Timeline, Price Leaked Ahead of Debut
  7. Realme UI 7.0 Launched With Light Glass Design, AI Features
  8. Researchers Unveil How Atomic Entanglement Enhances Light Bursts
  1. Motorola Edge 70 Launched With Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 Chipset, Slim 5.99mm Profile: Price, Specifications
  2. Researchers Unveil How Atomic Entanglement Enhances Light Bursts
  3. Lava Agni 4 Confirmed to Launch in Two Colourways; Tipster Leaks Price Range, Key Features
  4. Google Proposes Play Store Reforms in Settlement With Fortnite Maker Epic Games
  5. Scientists Recreate Cosmic ‘Fireballs’ in Lab to Solve Mystery of Missing Gamma Rays
  6. Realme UI 7.0 Launched With Light Glass Design, AI Notify Brief and AI Gaming Coach: See Eligible Phones, Beta Release Schedule
  7. iOS 26.2 Beta 1 Rolled Out to Developers With Enhanced Safety Alerts, Reminder Alarms
  8. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Spotted in Leaked Design Renders That Hint at Rounder Corners
  9. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 PC Specifications, Preloading Times Revealed; Activision Confirms Handheld Support
  10. Silicon Carbide-Based Motor Drive Enables a Smaller, Lighter Electric Aircraft Engine
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.