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Google’s Marissa Mayer Tapped as Yahoo’s Chief
- j45 14y agoWhile I don't care much for Yahoo or any brand, I love seeing someone who seems to have been over looked for a long time get a chance, albeit with a less than ideal situation but that's half the fun -- doing what others say can't be done.
- jbyers 14y agoWow. I am speechless. There is probably no better person on earth to light a user- and product-focused fire under Yahoo. But the risk, the risk for her is just stunning. Huge props to her for making the leap from what must be a very comfortable Google and for the board for finding a stunning candidate to lead the revival of Yahoo. (Edit: my definition of risk is lost time and missed opportunity. She's not going to suffer in compensation or reputation.)
- jblock 14y agoI mentioned this out loud at the office and that was the exact same reaction.
- backspace 14y agoI'm sorry but I find it so hilarious. I worked at Yahoo and Google both. I know both their cultures (and especially the culture at Yahoo after all the good engineers left). IMHO, she is status quo - no different than the horrible string of CEOs being hired by Yahoo. In fact, I will put a stake in the ground that she will not move the needle further than what Scott/Bartz did. I just can't get over how hilarious this situation is.
- RollAHardSix 14y agoWould you care to elaborate more on the different cultures both as individual entities and in direct comparison to each other?
- hv23 14y agoCurious; care to elaborate from an insider's perspective? What about their cultures make this situation hilarious, and how come you're convinced that Mayer won't make a difference?
- drtse4 14y agoNot knowing much about Mayer and reading some comments here i have the opposite question, why Mayer should be able to make a difference?
- wyclif 14y agoThe biggest factor is not Mayer herself, but again the "wrestling with a pig" factor mentioned in an excellent observation above. Yahoo! is not a sexy company.
- jmsduran 14y agoYes, I too am curious about your perspective. There are far too many posts claiming "Hey, I worked at X and Y!" without providing any sort of perspective whatsoever.
- brianstorms 14y agoI agree w/ backspace.
- rokhayakebe 14y agoBackspace, you sound negative. Can you at least provide some information which makes you feel like she is not going to perform? Like her previous performance, because that would be an ok indicator in this case.
- uptown 14y ago"the risk for her is just stunning" What risk? She's already achieved complete financial security from here time at Google. At Yahoo! she'll be taking the reins of a company that still attracts a massive userbase but is aching for someone with a fresh viewpoint on how to transform the company. Nothing buy potential IMO.
- jbyers 14y agoI'm not talking about money or reputation. The risk I see is time and opportunity. She could spend a maddening four years not moving the needle at Yahoo rather than another company or a startup of her own. Four years of punishing travel, endless meetings, unending Wall Street scrutiny. That risk.
- TylerE 14y agoDid you seriously just compare the CEO position at Yahoo to a _start-up_? To think the two are even in the same zip code, much less the same ballpark, is just, well it reflects a rather isolated viewpoint, put it that way. Yahoo is a $19B corporation.
- jbyers 14y agoCorrected. Poor phrasing on my part. I was suggesting a likely alternative for her would be starting a company, not that Yahoo is anything like a startup.
- TylerE 14y agoNo, that's exactly how I took it. Oblig car metaphor: That's like saying hey, as an alternative to a free Lamborghini Aventador, you can have an old Pontiac Fiero chassis, and a Chevy 350 with a blown head gasket. If you're really lucky and amazing you might make something worth 1/10th what the Lamborghini is.
- debacle 14y ago
- backspace 14y agoActually, there is no risk at all (if you know what's behind the covers). She is stagnating at Google. She had high ranking high influence positions at Google but over the years has been relegated to a position that has little visibility and control, mostly due to her non execution. This is a great opportunity for her to make some serious cash and be the "top dog" in a kennel of average dogs, rather than the opposite at Google. Also, even if she crashes and burns at Yahoo, she will get many more opportunities simply due to the brand recognition she has due to her tenure at Google.
- awakeasleep 14y agoCould you explain more what you mean by non-execution? I don't travel in circles where I have context for something like that and it sounds interesting.
- dtf 14y agoI had a CEO once who used to say "execute" a lot. I didn't really know what it meant either but it felt exciting when he said it. Sometimes I say it myself in the shower, when there's no-one within earshot.
- danellis 14y agoWhat, like "work harder or we'll execute the lot of you"?
- refurb 14y agoIt's typically used as a buzzword to describe "getting s$%t done that matters".
- sharkweek 14y agoMatt Cutts seems to disagree about her work -- https://twitter.com/mattcutts/status/224963111222910976 https://twitter.com/mattcutts/status/224963111222910976
- 14y ago
- ChuckMcM 14y agoDefinitely unexpected that she would show up at Yahoo but not unexpected that she would leave Google. The re-org was kind of a slap in the face and everyone pretty much knew it. But taking this role was not what I would have expected. If Microsoft really is trying to sell its Bing unit she might be able to make a search company out of it again. Or at least a company with a native search product to power its other properties.
- jcdavis 14y agoActually I don't think the risk is all that high. If the sinking ship still sinks, then oh well. But, however small the chance, she manages to turn things around...
- RollAHardSix 14y agoRespectfully what risk does she have? She has a tremendous history with Google, even if Yahoo tanks with her at the helm, she could probably continue in at least a Senior Vice President position with almost any other company of her choosing. Not to mention she is more-then-likely financially taken-care of. At that point, 'risk' is almost negligible. It's all just 'more possibilities' for Mrs. Mayer.
- drumdance 14y agoI think it's a risk too. She's shown that she can excel in a small company undergoing hyper growth. In this case she's presenting herself as a turnaround expert. I'm surprised she didn't sign on with a pre-IPO darling like Twitter or Facebook long ago.
- ArbitraryLimits 14y ago> She's not going to suffer in compensation or reputation. Are you serious? Have you seen what's happened to Yahoo's CEOs since ... ever?
- azylman 14y agoI don't think there's a lot of reputation risk for her, here... I'm pretty sure that if Yahoo continues it's current course, the majority reaction will be "Well, Yahoo was a sinking ship anyway, there's not a lot she could have done" but if Yahoo makes a comeback she'll be hailed as a miracle worker.
- azylman 14y agoFor proof of this, see Marc Andreessen's comments in TechCrunch[1]: Andreessen also said he's "super-happy" for Mayer, because she's ready to step into a CEO role at a major tech company. But can she actually turn Yahoo around? Andressen declined to offer any suggestions for areas that the company should pursue, and he also cautioned that it's hard to think of many Web companies that succeeded in turning themselves around. "On the other hand, it's hard to overestimate how screwed Apple was in 1997," Andreessen said. "Tech comapnies can in fact be turned around. The problem is, there aren't a lot of Steve Jobs characters running around." Basically, if she makes it, she's "a Steve Jobs character" and if not, well, it's hard to turn tech companies around. [1]: http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/16/marc-andreessen-marissa-mayer-yahoo/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/16/marc-andreessen-marissa-may...
- tjmc 14y agoDon't be so sure. Nokia was a sinking ship before Elop joined and now he's wearing most of the blame. Sure, he could have hitched Nokia's wagon to Android instead. But given that Google own competitor Motorola and are selling the killer Nexus 7 at no margin, they aren't exactly an ideal partner either.
- pessimizer 14y agoNokia was stagnating before Elop, not sinking.
- azylman 14y agoAll you need to do is look at how the tech press/community is ALREADY talking about this. See the quote from Andreessen[1] that I already talked about or, alternatively, another TechCrunch article that just got published: What a time for Marissa Mayer to take control at Yahoo. She'll need all the smarts she can lay her hands on to revive an ailing Yahoo.[2] It's already being set up so that the expectation is "she'll probably fail, because ANYONE will fail" but if she succeeds she's a miracle worker or "a Steve Jobs character". [1]: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4252945 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4252945 [2]: http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/16/yahoos-neglected-global-labs-network-might-hold-key-to-revival/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/16/yahoos-neglected-global-lab...
- sabat 14y agoAs someone who has been underwhelmed by Ms. Mayer since her early days at Google, I think this is just another desperate attempt to save the ailing Yahoo. It will fail, and she'll be out in less than a year.
- anmol 14y agocurious to learn why you say this?
- sabat 14y agoShe's a showboat, IMHO. This is based on personal observation and insider info. She's quick to yell about how great she is, but you don't see a lot of unbiased people talking about her contributions to technology or to Google. She has her own publicist; not from Google, mind you, this is the Marissa Mayer publicist. She apparently enjoyed keeping people lined up waiting for an appointment with her for hours. To summarize, there are a lot of signs of weak character, no signs of great leadership, and no signs of greatness at all. Yahoo's board wanted her, obviously, for the name Google. They will be disappointed.
- ebbv 14y agoClearly she's done good things at Google, but I think the chances of her being able to right what's wrong at Yahoo! are very low. Best of luck to her.
- sajid 14y agoIt will be interesting to see what happens at Yahoo now that someone who actually knows what they're doing is at the helm.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- CodeCube 14y agoI wonder if this means Bing is out and we'll see a new partnership with Google in the coming months. If so, it's a total ninja takeover :)
- benjaminwootton 14y agoWow that really is an audacious move from Yahoo!
- yock 14y agoIs it possible that Yahoo is just too far gone to be helped? Her head must be filled with dozens of ideas for changing the corporate culture there, but would any of us honestly believe anything could save Yahoo at this point?
- r00fus 14y agoLook at it from this angle: if she succeeds, she could be wildly successful (Steve Jobs return-style). If she fails, could anyone fault her? I see no outsized downsides for her here - she either succeeds or Yahoo continues to fail. For Yahoo, this is a high-profile CEO who, if the board gives enough maneuvering space, might prevent the free-fall and establish a stable flight.
- jonhendry 14y agoYIM: Yahookia In Motion
- drharris 14y agoIt can always be saved. They have a reasonably competent group of employees, a nice patent portfolio (recently cross-licensed with FB), and a recognizable brand that is still in heavy (albeit declining) use today. Even the more geeky crowd is becoming bearish on Google, so I think it's the perfect opportunity to reinvent the brand. What it should/could become is anybody's guess, but it will have to be a big change to correct their current course. It's always possible.
- petercooper 14y agoThere's another way to look at it. With $1bn of net income in 2011, Yahoo! can clearly turn a profit. Could any of us here on HN forge a great, long term business from a profit stream of hundreds of millions of dollars? I'm sure quite a few could, and Meyer surely stands a good chance. Even if she has to turn the organization upside down, make major branding changes, or fire key staff, Yahoo! has the resources, at least, to change for the better. It has just lacked the willpower, till now hopefully.
- richardv 14y agoCan someone explain how she is able to do this? Set aside the boldness of the move, but if anyone ever should be put on some kind of "garden leave" or some kind of non-compete it would be a person moving from a prominent position in Google to become CEO of Yahoo? Anyway, that aside. One thing that I hope that comes from this, is bringing some of the same Google-quality-developer-friendly-ethos to Yahoo. Dispite consuming several Yahoo services, I'm always disappointed at how slow they release changes... and if there is one thing that Yahoo needs it's changes.. --------- [] June 16th, "Marrissa Meyer Makes Move to Yahoo", [] June 20th, Yahoo switches from Bing to Google Search. [] July 21th, Bing sees enormous drop in QPM. Coup of the century? Who would of thought, should this actually happen, it would be the best possible outcome. Sacrificing the queen to totally dominate the search market even further.
- codex 14y agoNon-competes are unenforceable in California. Non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements are more so.
- reso 14y agoNon-competes are effectively illegal in California.
- thornofmight 14y agoIf I have a non-compete from employment in another state but then want to relocate to California, does that previous non-compete still apply?
- waiwai933 14y agoAssuming that you work in California, no, the non-complete clause is rendered unenforceable. (Under Application Group, Inc. v. Hunter Group, Inc., California law trumps a choice of law clause with respect to a non-compete clause.) If you live in CA and commute to Nevada/Oregon/Arizona/some other state, then my understanding is that the law of the state where you actually work would apply. Disclaimer: IANAL and this post does not constitute legal advice of any kind.
- bceagle 14y agoI thought for sure Mayer was a Google lifer. It's sort of like when someone like leaves a great college coaching gig to go to the pros. That doesn't mean Google isn't prime time, but rather just the idea that you have a comfortable situation for yourself that you can ride out or you can move somewhere else and make things much harder for yourself. She is clearly a driven individual and extremely talented so I think she will be successful at Yahoo.
- mikeflynn 14y agoI'm just gonna leave this right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcSujceZDmg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcSujceZDmg
- simondlr 14y ago"Ms. Mayer resigned from Google on Monday afternoon by telephone. She starts at Yahoo on Tuesday." - That's quick.
- milesskorpen 14y agoI think this is pretty standard. Yahoo clearly needs a permanent CEO yesterday.
- smokinn 14y agoFor the rank and file 2 weeks is standard. For upper level executives as soon as you resign you're escorted out the door by security and you're not allowed to touch anything. The level of access you had was so high that they don't want you learning anything more about the company's plans and want you out asap. I doubt anyone cared that she resigned by phone.
- protomyth 14y agoI've been around some companies where any IT worker who gives 2 week notice is escorted immediately out of the building. It is not unusual for 2 weeks to not be needed or wanted.
- raverbashing 14y agoShe should have done it by G+ hangout (my opinion)
- spaghetti 14y agoTrying to think of explanations for this. First thing that comes to mind is a Dilbert cartoon where the new CEO takes over to run the company into the ground. While Yahoo's news, shopping, maps and search traffic is probably only a fraction of Google's it's still worth something. Why not install an insider at Yahoo and slowly help the traffic move over?
- velodrome 14y agoI think she is very capable of turning Yahoo back into an engineering-focused company. Best of luck.
- kanamekun 14y agoWas Yahoo ever an engineering-focused company? http://blog.phanfare.com/2009/07/its-official-yahoo-is-a-media-company-microsoft-is-a-technology-company/ http://blog.phanfare.com/2009/07/its-official-yahoo-is-a-med...
- smacktoward 14y agoYahoo's roots were actually in a rejection of engineering. For years their primary product was their human-curated directory of Web sites. It was popular because the quality of results returned by the algorithmic search engines of the time (HotBot, Lycos, AltaVista, etc. -- you young 'uns in the crowd may need to look them up) were so poor that you had better odds of finding what you were looking for in Yahoo's directory. The directory left out vast numbers of sites, of course -- that was the cost of trying to manually maintain an index of the Web as it exploded in size. Human curators couldn't keep up with that growth; only software could. But Yahoo bet that software would never be as good as humans at finding the site you were looking for. Then Google came along and built software that could index the whole web and return relevant results from it, and that knocked the bottom right out of Yahoo's manual-curation approach.
- vidarh 14y agoI worked at Yahoo 2003-2005, and back then I used to tell everyone who would listen that a big part of the problem was that the engineering team at Yahoo believed that Yahoo was a technology company, while the product team treated it as a media company. It was an ongoing tension while Yahoo was still desperately clinging to the fantasy of regaining the search leadership, or at least stopping Google in its tracks - search was to a large extent Yahoo engineering's claim to legitimacy for the idea of a tech focused Yahoo. Without it, what was left were mainly support functions for a massive content operation, but with a team still to a large extent seeing itself as the core of the company. Yahoo wasted tremendous amounts trying to do technology for the sake of being a tech company rather than to support revenues; a lot of little fiefdoms in engineering were allowed to exist seemingly because it looked internally like Yahoo was building an impressive technology base, while it often instead was creating tensions in the business and costing ridiculous amounts.
- rokhayakebe 14y agoIt was quite clear that the only way she could move up and grow would be to either start a new company, and what would that be that after Google, or leading another huge company. Great choice, I am rooting for her, and for Yahoo.
- steve8918 14y agoWow, what an incredible coup. I've always admired her, she seems to be very smart and has her finger on the pulse on what the Internet is all about, so if anyone can turn Yahoo around it's her. I sincerely hope she has the intestinal fortitude to do WHATEVER it takes to revitalize Yahoo. The first thing I would do is get rid of the entire board of directors, they need a complete reboot as well.
- asciident 14y agoUmmm isn't it the board of directors that hires the CEO?
- mlinsey 14y agoYes. But if an incoming CEO has a lot of political capital, they can try and demand that certain board members leave as a condition of taking the job. It's unusual, and takes an unusual person to pull it off, but it happens. (For example, this is what happened when Steve Jobs was made interim CEO of Apple.) Mayer is a big coup for Yahoo, and the investors may back her if she wants to clean house with the board, but I wouldn't necessarily expect it to happen; it's unclear if Mayer really sees the board as part of the problem, and as Mayer is coming from outside of the organization, she may lack the close ties to other Yahoo execs that would be necessary to pull such a move off.
- rokhayakebe 14y agoThank you for the positive attitude. Most comments here are focused on how much of a challenge this is for her and why would she leave security for something that could possibly become bigger. Well, maybe she wants something bigger in life. Can that be possible?
- tatsuke95 14y ago>"so if anyone can turn Yahoo around it's her." Do you really believe that? I mean, of all the potential candidates out there, she has the best pedigree? I think the negative commentary stems from there. You think this is a coup. To me, it's sort of a ho-hum, predictable hiring. Yahoo! needs an overhaul as a business, and to do so they hired someone with SV name power.
- ryanwaggoner 14y agoThis might be a stupid question, but are there any amazing turnaround stories in the world of large tech companies? If not, is that due to the relative youth of the sector, or something fundamental? I can think of a ton of companies that have faltered, but really none that have made a dramatic turnaround.
- smacktoward 14y agoApple kind of leaps to mind. This is where they were the year Jobs returned, remember: http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/wired+cover.jpg http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/wired+cover.jpg
- spaghetti 14y agoApple is a good example. Keep in mind that Apple was "turned around" by one of the founders. That's an example of re-aligning the company with it's original vision rather than altering the vision. I think the latter is much harder but I've never tried.
- ryanwaggoner 14y agoWow, I feel stupid now. Maybe I didn't think of Apple because it was an original founder returning and fixing things?
- smacktoward 14y agoDon't feel stupid! It doesn't happen very often, really. Certainly the examples are few and far between. Turnarounds can happen, they just usually don't.
- ams6110 14y agoInteresting observation. Most startups fail, and most turnaround efforts fail. Makes success something you really want to hang on to when you find it.
- 14y ago
- adventureful 14y agoThis will play out much like Armstrong at AOL. Lots of flailing around, another attempt at altering Yahoo's trajectory, and ultimately a further devalued company (not specifically because of anything Mayer will do, but because there's nothing that can stop Yahoo's erosion). At some point the conclusion needs to be reached that the core of Yahoo is the problem. The products that generate the bulk of their sales are at best stagnant with no growth left, and at worst are slowly collapsing. Once that's properly digested, the company then needs to be blown apart and liquidated to the highest bidders. Maybe there's a smaller core that could be focused on as a source of innovation and growth, but it's definitely not what makes up the bulk of Yahoo's $20 billion market value. If the goal is to generate shareholder value, Mayer should focus on getting her hands around an engine of growth that she can really add value to; a smaller Yahoo where she can drive a few growth products (assuming those can be found first). So much of what Yahoo does is maintaining a flat-lined late 1990s group of products.
- codex 14y agoI wonder what advice Michael Dell has for Yahoo.
- adventureful 14y agoDepends on if you think Mayer has some Steve Jobs magic in her.
- erohead 14y agoSuccess is non-linear! click
- product50 14y agoGood advice. So according to you nothing can be changed at Yahoo! no matter who comes in. Apple was in a similar situation not long ago and I am sure there were people like you commenting similarly. I am not saying Marissa is similar to Steve Jobs but at least she has the credibility and qualification to make things work. Why comment when you have nothing to add?
- bcn 14y agoMs. Mayer resigned from Google on Monday afternoon by telephone. That must have been an interesting call (to Larry?) to make...
- orenmazor 14y agoI read that as Trapped
- richardjordan 14y agoThis is just brilliant news for Yahoo. Much as they have become a figure of ridicule in Silicon Valley, I have hoped year after year to see a Yahoo resurgence. This is finally a real chance at a turnaround. Of course now we have to see if potential acquirers (particularly those going up against Google) suddenly see Yahoo as a much better target if they can get Mayer in the deal. (MS, FB, I'm looking at you!)
- mtgx 14y agoWhen does Yahoo's contract with Microsoft for the search engine expire? 2014? I think she will quickly switch to Google search engine after that. And there goes half of Bing's market share.
- elsewhen 14y agoIt's a 10-year contract that expires in 2019: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2052024/Its-Official-Microsoft-and-Yahoo-Finally-Strike-Search-Deal http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2052024/Its-Official-Mi...
- pgrote 14y agoGoogle has to sue Yahoo!, right? She has to be walking away with trade secrets for local and search.
- spaghetti 14y agoMore like Google just bought Yahoo.
- r00fus 14y agoGood luck in California - worker's rights here are pretty hard to attack. There's a possibility this is a coup by Google - if Yahoo defects to Google search engine it's nearly checkmate for Bing. Remember, Melissa and Page were once a thang: http://gawker.com/152210/editorial-googles-power-couple http://gawker.com/152210/editorial-googles-power-couple Regardless, I wish the best for Yahoo and Marissa. It would be good to have a strong Yahoo back in the scene - lots of incredible talent there.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- programminggeek 14y agoSo she was head of Search at Google at one point right? I wonder what it would be like to become CEO of a company who has outsourced their whole search and advertising stack to Bing. Will Yahoo! start caring about search or ads again?
- polyfractal 14y agoI wouldn't bother. They are so far behind both Bing and Google that trying to play catch up in the search game is simply a lost cause. They have significant traffic and brand loyalty for certain services (finance, sports, etc). They need to focus on that, not chase a game they lost ages ago (search).
- j_baker 14y agoJust because they've "lost" search doesn't mean they can't make money off of it. Opera "lost" the browser market a long time ago and is still making money.
- jusben1369 14y agoI'm not sure that's the analogy she would have used to wow the Board. Yahoo has a totally different audience that spends a lot of time on their site consuming content in a very different way than say Google or Bing. The opportunities for them to monetize them are very different but no less exciting. Yahoo has just struggled with a) determining which ones are strategic, b) enhancing those ones and c) creating a smoother experience between those. Sounds like a role for a very solid product manager to me.
- potatolicious 14y agoThis. IMO Yahoo's days as a technology company have long since ended (if they ever really existed in the first place). They have never been a heavily algorithms-based company like Google is. IMO Yahoo's best bet is to reinvent themselves as a world-class product company, and rent the relevant tech stack from someone who can actually do a good job of it.
- shawnee_ 14y agoDoug Crockford gave a great keynote address at the HTML5 conf this year titled "What would Crockford do?" It was basically not about HTML5 and all about what he'd do if he were Yahoo CEO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cukFl7gpjE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cukFl7gpjE (Crockford takes the stage ~5:09 )
- Tobu 14y agoRemixed with the slides: http://youtu.be/8HzclYKz4yQ http://youtu.be/8HzclYKz4yQ
- feronull 14y agohe would fork a Node.js and made Ynode :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HzclYKz4yQ&feature=player_detailpage#t=1360s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HzclYKz4yQ&feature=playe... ~22:40
- dmpk2k 14y agoWhy?
- roopeshv 14y agosee the video for the answer
- dmpk2k 14y agoI saw the video. It seems a very silly thing to do -- ever since I first saw that video I've been trying to understand Crockford's angle, and I just cannot. However, feronull seems in favour of it, so I'd like to know why. Forking a project isn't a healthy thing to do, unless there's something seriously wrong with the existing community (e.g. XFree86). As far as I can tell: * The nodejs community is healthy and vibrant. * There are no systemic problems with contribution. * Isaac Schultner has his head on straight, has reasonable priorities, and is a pleasant character. * Much, if not most, of node's development is happening outside Joyent anyway. * Nothing is stopping Yahoo from contributing to the existing project. Even if all of the above were false, why does Crockford think the remnants of Yahoo's engineering can do better? Joyent is filled with Sun's top talent, and the engineering division is run by an enlightened alpha engineer. I cannot help but think this is a case of sour grapes by Crockford, because there just doesn't seem to be a good reason for his stance. Edit: as an aside, his idea of rewriting everything in node is a bit ridiculous too. I've been a part of several projects to rewrite code, for smaller things than all of Yahoo's online assets, and it sure took longer than one year to do a good job even with excellent engineers. This is a long-term project, not something you do to fix the immediate bleeding. This, and forking node, are very strange things to focus on right now given Yahoo's difficulties.
- sanj 14y agoMarissa is one of the few people that can give Yahoo! any sort of chance at success. I wish her luck.
- yumraj 14y agoHistorical precedent: Stephen Elop was head of Business Division at MS before he became Nokia CEO and then Nokia fully fell in MS's lap. Prediction: Sometime in near future some sort of very close partnership will happen between Google and Yahoo, subject to regulatory approval of course. Edit: Fixed "MS CEO" to "Nokia CEO" typo. Thanks kreilly
- kreilly 14y agoI assume you mean Elop became CEO of Nokia, not MS.
- dexen 14y agoCame here to say just that. Another prediction: such partnership won't help Google very much, but will hurt Microsoft a bit -- due to Yahoo shying away from Bing and possibly MS e-mail technology. It may also well help developers -- Yahoo's YUI is a very handy and very relevant toolkit; with Marissa as the CEO, I sure hope Yahoo will embrace developers more and YUI will get some more love.
- peetahb 14y agoI was discussing the same topic with my coworkers when we heard the news. Yahoo's YUI could be the company's starting point at developing strong products and boosting Yahoo's relevance as a brand. It's a great library.
- yuhong 14y agoYea, IMO Google should have persisted with the Google-Yahoo ad deal and let DOJ sue, then use the appeal to show the bad logic DOJ tried to use to stop the deal.
- johnnybgoode 14y agoWow, years later, even after her de facto demotion at Google, people still think she's some kind of product genius? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1028615 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1028615 This is a hilarious situation.
- mnicole 14y agoInteresting. So that reply was ages old, but in the event that you're dealing with a manager like that today - what is the best thing to do outside of leaving the organization?
- gfosco 14y agoI think leaving is your only option, actually, outside of going to HR and asking to be moved to a different team... and I'd never go to HR to ask that.
- acak 14y agoIf the organization is large enough, try to make an amicable break and move internally. This is the simplest way if you do not have a conscience about the company or your work (not always a bad thing to be conscience-less about these things). If you can't move internally, pursue two threads of action simultaneously: (1) In most situations, you will have a smart, rational person you might be aware of in the layer that he/she reports into (though preferable, not necessarily her direct boss). Talk to them about what you see as problems. Be prepared to back up your claims with documented, solid evidence of the behavior. Keep emotional, hyperbolic, prejudicial expressions or assertions to yourself - they will only work against you in such situations. Be as paranoid as you can be about who you can trust to back you up in your peer group in case there has to be a discussion. Knowing people who're discontent like you helps only if you know they won't stab you in the back. Avoid ultimatums. Express faith in the system and the ability for the person to change. Express willingness to change yourself. In other words, come off as the bigger person right from the beginning and at all times. (2) Have an exit strategy if the situation turns on you. This could include escalation to several layers (CEO/Board) above the layers you're dealing with and looking out for a new job.
- j2labs 14y agoThis is so exciting. I can't wait to see what she comes up with. Everyone is gonna benefit from this.
- loceng 14y agoI wonder if this was apart of the Kevin Rose acquisition, who seems to have somewhat of a holistic understanding of local. Google better find someone equally amazing to replace her though, and fast.
- cft 14y agoThat's might be really good news for Google users: I think products that she used to run, like local business reviews on Android maps have a new chance now.
- endtime 14y agoCare to elaborate?
- SoftwareMaven 14y agoYahoo! needs to decide if they are a content company or a technology company. I'm not sure which is the right one, but I think Mayer has shown she can focus and can get other people to focus as well.
- roadnottaken 14y agoIf she tries to make Yahoo be exactly like Google circa ~2007 it will be a massive success.
- Tobu 14y agoHow so? They have to compete with the current Google.
- varunsaini 14y agoI believe this change of guard might open a possibility of future Yahoo buy out by Google. I feel that it will be very hard for Yahoo to survive and future sale will be an option. In that case, Google might have an upper hand.
- grandalf 14y agoWow this is very huge. Look out Google!
- jusben1369 14y agoI guess Yahoo just became a tech company again not a media one. This is actually a brilliant move. YHOO's biggest challenge is retaining quality developers. Developers will feel way more inclined to either a) Stay or b) Think about joining than they were under the previous several leaders.
- HardyLeung 14y agoMarissa Mayer: "it was a reasonably easy decision" ... This is probably what went through her mind... If Larry can lead Google, and I being the smarter one of the two ... Despite all her flaws, she may actually succeed at Yahoo! just to prove her critics wrong. So congrats, and best of luck!
- lobby7nerd 14y agoThis will be interesting. She has three big challenges - with little prior experience in each: 1. Running a public company is vastly different and considerably more complex than managing large teams. She has to build an executive team capable of executing on all fronts. This is beyond hiring the best engineers and product managers, it is about hiring a CFO, COO, GMs, VPs, etc. that can execute on the plan set out by the CEO. 2. Managing a stagnating business requires different skills than a rapidly growing business. Google benefitted from exponential growth in usage, users, revenue. Yahoo is already over the hill. Most incoming CEOs do a top-down review of the business to understand assets and liabilities. They visit customers and large investors. In the end, they have to present a credible plan to the BOD for refocusing the business. Where should you invest or divest? Should you be aligned along product lines, geographically, or along customer segments? 3. Yahoo needs deep tech investments - to do so, it must attract and retain brilliant engineers. It is my understanding that Ms. Mayer's focus at google has been product and not technology. Without proper engineering, the best product ideas will fizzle. How will Ms. Mayer attract the best engineers to Yahoo? Without growth, it is hard to convince the best engineers to join your shop.
- StacyC 14y agoI don’t even know what Yahoo does. I never use that site, except for a couple crappy-looking Yahoo groups sites.
- dave1619 14y agoCongrats goes out to Marissa Mayer. I don't know her reputation inside Google but from the interviews I've watched of her, she seems very articulate and focused. Hopefully she can help Yahoo with clearer focus and better execution.
- sandycheeks 14y agoI'm optimistic as long as she is given enough freedom to do what she wants to do. Wonder if there will be a "Why I Left Google" blog post :)
- aespinoza 14y agoThis is amazing news. I think Marissa Meyer is the first potential savior of Yahoo! I am excited about this, I think we'll start seeing a set of good things come out of this decision. Big loss for Google though.
- the_researcher 14y agoIf I'm not mistaken she has been in charge of Google Local for a while. This is an awful, awful product. Buggy as hell, ugly, and absolutely no inspiration or cleverness anywhere to be found. If that product was truly her responsibility, God help Yahoo.
- nostrademons 14y agoShe was in charge of Geo, which is a broad product area that includes Maps, Earth, Local, Street View, Maps for Mobile, Zagat, etc. Local may suck, but most people think Maps is pretty good.
- the_researcher 14y agoMaps was great when she took over. Local was very important because the push was to get all businesses using Google Local (this is why they promoted it to the top of all search results, etc, and why they tried to buy Yelp). Despite the obvious value to them, the product was and remains very poor.
- VikingCoder 14y agoMarissa Mayer (2012-Present) Ross Levinsohn (Interim) (2012) Scott Thompson (2012) Tim Morse (Interim) (2011-2012) Carol Bartz (2009-2011) Jerry Yang (2007-2009) Terry Semel (2001-2007) Timothy Koogle (1995-2001) I seriously hope that the Board of Directors has some idea of what they're doing, because their track record certainly doesn't look like it. EDIT: To be clear, this wasn't meant as a slam on Marissa. What I meant was "It looks like the Board has created a toxic environment that no one could survive."
- wilfra 14y agoWhen Thompson got pushed out new people took control of the Board, including the hedge fund that outed him for lying about his CS degree. In the same way you can't attribute past failures to Mayer, you can't attribute them to the current Board either.
- wavephorm 14y agoI am very curious what goes in those Board of Directors meetings. Does everyone just sit around asking eachother "What the fuck does this company do, and how are we still in business?" Seriously, what does Yahoo do? I don't know, because I haven't been their website since the 1990's. They obviously don't make software or hardware products, because I don't own any and have never paid for any of their products. I have no use for whatever services they might offer because I've never heard of anyone praising or recommending their services. I honestly would like to know how Yahoo still exists. I think Marissa Mayer has a much harder task in front of her than she might think. Yahoo really doesn't do anything, or have products. How is she going to improve that which does not exist?
- unavoidable 14y agoYahoo has some good niche products that are doing relatively well compared to the rest of the company (fantasy sports is one, Flickr is another). To survive they probably need to do more of those and figure out how to specialize and monetize the products that aren't stagnating.
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- arrowgunz 14y agoI am so happy for Yahoo! Hope she gets Yahoo! back to the place where it deserves to be.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- dkrich 14y agoOne thing I'm wondering as I read this is whether there has ever been a successful turnaround at a dot com company before. I can't think of any. If anybody can think of one, I'd be interested to hear it. I think Yahoo is still going to shrink a great deal, but that has little to do with their CEO. You can't expect one person to reinvent a company that does not have typical operations. By that I mean you can't improve processes or introduce vastly better products. Yahoo's only chance at growing is to expand into new product lines. That's why I don't necessarily think Mayer is a great match. I would be far more interested if a Tim Cook type had been chosen. Not because of the ties to Apple, but because of his expertise in operations and real business experience.
- floatboth 14y agoI hope she'll sell all that search and mail junk to Microsoft and turn Yahoo into the Flickr company. Flickr is profitable and awesome!
- pjg 14y agoThis is definitely stunning news. Marissa of all the people. All I can say is - wow! Time will tell where this leads to, but hey if anyone has the charisma to pull off miracles Marissa is the one.
- jdevonport 14y agoWonderful news, I actually have optimism about Yahoo's future for the first time in years. Now the whole board needs to go - there is no question about that.
- vtry 14y agoI guess no compete not enforceable in California!
- Xavura 14y agoI thought Yahoo! was a dying brand, why would anyone want to leave Google of all places for them at this point?
- Gaussian 14y agoShe did the right thing. I think she had peaked at Google. She risks "failure" at Yahoo, but that's why this is the right move. What was she to do at Google -- just drift along as the cofounders continue to (rightly) control the company? I've never been a huge fan nor a detractor of Mayer, but I'll be rooting for Yahoo now. It's about time for another epic comeback story in SV. Long odds, but that's why this is fun.
- wcdolphin 14y ago$100 says Yahoo is acquired by Google in the next three years. Any takers? I am imagining/hoping for a more successful version of the Stephen Elop leaves Microsoft, runs Nokia, forms a strong partnership with Microsoft. But this time, Yahoo is even more in the pits.
- SkyMarshal 14y agoI'll take the other side of that bet. Yahoo has nothing Google needs, and won't within 3 years, even with Mayer reforming it. There's also a cost to acquisition beyond just the monetary - organizational and cultural namely. Not worth it for Google.
- MartinCron 14y agoYahoo has nothing Google needs Flickr+Picasa=I might actually use Google products in a social way.
- jpadkins 14y agomerging two good products does not make a great one.
- MartinCron 14y agoFlickr is a great product, it's more like having google plus riding on Flickr's coattails.
- junto 14y agoflickasa.com anyone?
- msantos 14y agoGoogle would only acquire Yahoo, should Yahoo be just about to disappear - if that's even possible - or if it was going down fast. Only than it would justify to take over the patents and staff at a fair price, without paying extra for the "junk" which is supposedly sinking. However, on the other hand Facebook would do just fine if they acquire Yahoo. As soon as Facebook's stocks get more stable and the fuss settles, I'm guessing Dec/2012 to Feb/2013, Facebook's shares will be going for a "very fair" USD15 ~ USD21. But if they launch their mobile device in that period, then I guess their shares will rock on USD25 ~ USD31 Anyways, considering the mobile device is not arriving before Q2 2013, then without growth and new features and afraid of new comers, the board will realise than they need content and loads of patents if they are to take on Google's array of products. And Yahoo will fit Facebook just like a glove. However, Microsoft fearing for it's lack of social presence and weak search-engine, will possibly start a bidding war. Cutting the story short, I'd bet Facebook takes over if not completely, at least a good chunk of Yahoo, by the end of 2013.
- jroseattle 14y agoWow, this is so crazy it just might work. I'm not sure what Yahoo would look like in succeeding under Mayer as CEO, but I have to imagine it would be substantively different than what it looks like now.
- jacksonmohsenin 14y agoShe should start with a new logo.
- grsites 14y agoBetter to rule in hell than to serve in heaven.
- Zenst 14y agoI've not dealt or indeed met her so I can't realy comment much beyond from what I have read that she certainly will not be any worse than what they have had before. One tip I will give, whoever is CEO of Yahoo, vote the board out as they seem to make alot of bad mistakes and will only end up blaming you for them.
- tk999 14y agoHere is what she will do: 1. Cut. Cut as much as possible. 2. Refocus on mobile. May be partner with nokia or microsft or other falling company to provide default content to other platform 3. When yahoo is stable enough. Sell or merge the company.
- TWAndrews 14y agoWhy would you bring in someone like Mayer to do that? Any MBA type could do that.
- klawed 14y agoI'm genuinely surprised that no-one's discussing the possible acquisition of yahoo by google as a result of this. Or is that naive? Or cynical? Or perhaps just dumb...
- dspeyer 14y agoSeems unlikely to me. The Motorola acquisition took forever to get through the EU, and that's a different industry. The legal burden of acquiring a major direct competitor like yahoo would be more than the company was worth.
- aneth4 14y agoHer first priority should be to restore Flickr as a leader in photo and video sharing. With her "coolness" factor at the helm (even though personally I don't think she's that cool) this is possible, and the world would be a better place for it. Flickr is Yahoo's best long term asset.
- jasonlingx 14y agoMight just be a new beginning for Yahoo
- carerra 14y agoIs this a dream come true for an aspiring CEO (resurrect an a-list tech company), or was she the 7th person to be offered the job, except she said 'yes'?
- railswarrior 14y agoTurning around yahoo - a big corporation like that is like changing an old mans behaviour who has been set in his own ways. Mayer though showed success at google has less chances to succeed . Nevertheless considering her experience on search she wouldn't have made a better choice .
- jc123 14y agoWonder if they also asked Sheryl Sandberg? Seems that she would be another one to move given that Zuck is probably going to be CEO for a long time.
- redwood 14y agoGuessing she's saying... "First thing we're doing is adding threading to email" Or... "Internally, we're going to use Gmail for corporate work, Yahoo!"
- sas 14y agoI'm really surprised nobody has mentioned the Glass Cliff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_cliff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_cliff "women are more likely to occupy positions that are precarious and thus have a higher risk of failure - either because they are appointed to lead organizational units that are in crisis or because they are not given the resources and support needed for success"
- josephcooney 14y agoHer twitter profile now says "@Yahoo". And her and her partner are expecting their first child, due October 7th. Exciting times for them.
- marcamillion 14y agoThis may be a silly question...but is Mayer now legally obligated to liquidate her Google stock position? I would assume that owning a large amount of stock of one of your major competitors, as the CEO, could create some conflicts of interest for shareholders...no? I am not insinuating that this is some sinister plot by Mayer to boost her Google stock holdings - I don't think there is anything she could do at Yahoo to do that, other than possibly shift their entire ad budget to Adwords...but even that. Either way, I would love to know those sorts of 'quirky' implications on such a decision. Especially given that the vast majority of her compensation is now in Yahoo stock. I also wonder if it would be a 'legal' issue, or a moral issue.
- jagtesh 14y agoBrilliant move! So they finally managed pull out a rabbit out from their ass. Jokes apart, Marissa is an excellent product manager and a strategist, and with her kind of experience at Google from it's good old days till now - she's just the flu shot that Yahoo needs.
- bobsy 14y agoIts a great coup for Yahoo. I think Yahoo's problem is the fact that its search side of things has collapsed. Primarily it was this that made the company so big. Now that search has effectively collapsed they don't appear to have a core product. This means the question "What does Yahoo! do?" can't really be answered. If you ask that question of Google. You answer. Google is a search engine which also does... If you ask that question of Amazon. Amazon is an online store which also does... With Yahoo? Yahoo.. owns a bunch on interesting products? It has no core and without a big central product to build around it has been hard for successive CEO's to actually drive the company forward. I have no idea what Mayer can do to resolve this.
- brainsqueezer 14y agoI allways think that Yahoo should split in two, a media/content company and a tech one. Why? Because now it's a two head horse, and each head wants to go it's way but the other head goes opposite. What do you guys think?
- threepointone 14y agoCalm down, everybody.
- tathagatadg 14y agohttp://techcrunch.com/2012/07/16/marissa-mayer-the-first-ever-pregnant-ceo-of-a-fortune-500-tech-company/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/16/marissa-mayer-the-first-eve... - Respect.
- bluetidepro 14y agoIt will be very interesting to see her juggle a pregnancy and being a new CEO. I wonder if she goes "MIA" for a bit after she has the baby.
- melissamiranda 14y agoPregnancy doesn't really affect your ability to work (except for complications that require bedrest, and even then you work from home). A newborn does require care from the mother, but many women are able to return to work full time after 6 weeks (and some as early as 3 weeks). She'll probably be on leave for a few weeks after baby arrives, but I'm sure she'll be able to keep an eye on things even while she's gone (this is why the night nurse was invented). A baby and a career are not mutually exclusive, I just wish people would stop assuming that they are.
- narad 14y agoMy thoughts goes like this.... Down the line, Yahoo will sell itself to Google. Just like EDS was sold to HP. Consolidation is on the horizon.
- crotalo 14y agoI would tap that too.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- rush-tea 14y agoThis move would be similar to Sanjay Jha moving from Qualcomm COO to Motorola Mobility CEO. Look at what happened now. Sanjay Jha not only got a nice compensation package from Motorola Mobility but also a great deal from leaving the CEO at MM after Google acquisition and another reputation to boot as being the one who revive Motorola from zero to hero (being acquired)
- duncan_bayne 14y agoI swear I read that headline as 'trapped' not 'tapped'.
- pmmucsd 14y agoMajority of people surveyed who are familiar with Mayer think she will turn Yahoo around: https://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/view?survey=hwzvifanwr5xu https://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/view?survey=...