14 DAY TRIAL // Well, that was fun, while it lasted. Yahoo's latest CEO Scott Thompson, just two months on the job, is out the door. The non-existent computer science degree which he listed on his official bio and also the documents sent to the SEC were the reason for his dismissal. He's not the only one gone, the entire board will be changed as well, sooner than expected.
Over the last week, details emerged that made it rather clear the whole thing was more than just an "inadvertent mistake" as Yahoo first characterized it.
The now-former CEO first said that a headhunting agency was responsible and that he wasn't aware of what his bio on Yahoo or previously at eBay said.
But evidence came up that proved him wrong, some interviews in which he implied that he did have a CS degree. The headhunting agency said it had proof that it was not guilty of the mistake. The board is said to have a copy of the former executive's CV in which he lists the fictitious degree.
During the last week it seems that Thompson found out and told several people at the company and the board that he had a form of cancer, but this was not made public.
The move leaves Yahoo more in disarray than ever, Thompson was supposed to be the CEO to set Yahoo on the right track, or at least to bring a period of stability.
Yahoo's global head of media, Ross Levinsohn has been named interim CEO at Yahoo, but has a chance of becoming permanent CEO. His name was put forward in 2009 when Yahoo was looking for a new CEO, but Carol Bartz eventually took over.
Along with Thompson's ouster, Yahoo has settled with Dan Loeb's Third Point LLC, the largest outside investor in Yahoo, which was looking for a proxy fight over control of the board. Loeb got three seats out of five on the board. All current members will be replaced effective immediately.