Monday, June 12, 2017

"By Wall Street’s most basic yardstick — Yahoo’s stock price — Ms. Mayer earned every penny she got"

NYT:
Yahoo’s share price more than tripled during her tenure.

...

She was essentially hired by one hedge-fund manager, Daniel S. Loeb, who got her predecessor fired and won three seats on Yahoo’s board in 2012. Mr. Loeb was particularly interested in finding a way to unlock the value of Yahoo’s stake in Alibaba, which was already shaping up to be one of China’s leading internet companies. He pushed the board to recruit a star like Ms. Mayer to get people excited about a company that had been stumbling for years.

When Ms. Mayer’s early efforts to turn around Yahoo’s business and spin off the Alibaba shares failed to bear fruit, another hedge fund manager, Jeffrey C. Smith of Starboard Value, led a campaign to push for her ouster. Mr. Smith eventually garnered four board seats so he could keep the pressure on.