Jerry Yang has stepped down from his role as chief executive of Yahoo. Announcing his resignation in a memo sent to Yahoo’s staff on Monday evening, Mr Yang said he would continue as acting CEO until the board appoints a successor.

Yang, a co-founder of Yahoo, has been CEO for the last year and a half after he took over from Terry Semel, a Hollywood studio boss that Yang had chosen for the job. Unfortunately, during this time, Yahoo has been marred by a declining share price, a botched merger with Microsoft, board room strife, and a decision to retrench 1,500 employees.

Yahoo has hired head hunters Heidrick & Struggles to help look for candidates. Upon appointing Jerry Yang’s successor, the outgoing CEO plans to remain actively involved at Yahoo as a key executive and member of the board.

Yahoo’s share price increased by over 4 percent in after-hours trading following the news, indicating that shareholders are pleased that Jerry will no longer be CEO.

Source: Brad Stone and Claire Cain Miller, “Jerry Yang, Yahoo Chief, Steps Down”, The New York Times, November 17, 2008

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