With the litany of recent CEO changes in the tech world, one almost forgets about Yahoo, which showed its now ex-chief executive Carol Bartz (News - Alert) the door nearly two months ago. Since then, Yahoo's board has undertaken a "strategic review" of the company, and seemed to have put the search for a new CEO on the backburner, possibly to consider acquisition offers from potential suitors.
But the Wall Street Journal reported early this morning that Yahoo's board is now placing a "renewed emphasis" on the CEO hunt, which is highlighted by its hiring of executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles (again).
Although people familiar the matter have said that Yahoo's directors currently have no list of potential candidates for the job, one interesting tidbit came to light yesterday afternoon: David Kenny, a Yahoo board member who has reportedly campaigned for the top job at the Internet giant, has resigned as president and director of Akamia.
In a statement announcing his resignation, Kenny said that he is leaving the company because he wants to "return to [his] first passion of pursuing emerging opportunities on the consumer Internet."
Hmm, interesting. The description sounds a bit like Yahoo, other than the "emerging" part of course. So, does this mean that Kenny is in line for the job, or is at least a top contender?
Not according to Yahoo shareholder and fund manager Eric Jackson, who outright rejected the idea of bringing on Kenny as the new chief executive. "David Kenny was a bad fit from the start at $AKAM, charged to start a new biz that never panned out. He will not be the next $YHOO CEO," Jackson posted on Twitter (News - Alert).
When asked by Business Insider why he doesn't see Kenny as a viable option, Jackson replied: "Because this board needs to sell the goddamned company and not screw around with a new CEO."
So I guess we will have to just wait and see. Jackson isn't a board member himself (just one of many frustrated shareholders), so we will have to take his words with a grain of salt. Still, the media outlet reports that Kenny made at least one appearance in Sunnyvale following the Bartz firing to meet with the Yahoo product team and potential investor groups. Stay tuned.
Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Rich Steeves
