Reports: Yahoo board candidate search under way

[January 09, 2012]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Yahoo Inc. is preparing for a possible makeover of its board, according to news media reports published Saturday.

The Internet company, which hired PayPal president Scott Thompson as its new CEO this past week, is searching for candidates to replace board members who may resign, according to The Wall Street Journal. Reuters also reported that Yahoo is looking for new board members. Nine Yahoo directors are up for re-election this year at the company's annual meeting.

The Journal said one of the directors might be Yahoo's chairman, Roy Bostock. The Journal said the search is being led by director Patti Hart and that Yahoo also has hired executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. to assist.

The Journal and Reuters based their reports on information from unidentified people who are familiar with the situation. A telephone call and an email from The Associated Press seeking comment on the reports were not returned immediately.

Thompson, who was appointed on Wednesday, is the Sunnyvale, Calif., company's fourth chief executive in fewer than five years. He replaced Silicon Valley veteran Carol Bartz, who was fired four months ago.

With Thompson's selection, Yahoo's board is signaling that it believes the company can rebound, despite several years of losing ground to Google and Facebook in product innovation and online advertising. His task will be to revive Yahoo's revenue growth and repair its fractured relationship with investors fed up with a litany of broken turnaround promises.

The Journal said the search for new board members intensified after Thompson was appointed and that a number of senior executives in various fields have been contacted.

[Associated Press]

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