6 ms·

Yahoo says COO De Castro leaving Thursday

41 points by leothekim 13y ago

mathattack 13y ago
It sounds like the knives and "I told you so" peanut gallery are out in force on this one.
- yajoe 13y ago
  Mind elaborating, even if it's wild speculation and rumor? I haven't been following YHOO closely to know the backstory or context behind this individual.
  - Steko 13y ago
    http://recode.net/2014/01/15/henrique-de-castro-out-at-yahoo/ http://recode.net/2014/01/15/henrique-de-castro-out-at-yahoo...
    - yapcguy 13y ago
      >Considered whip-smart and clever, the former business consultant also made a number of powerful enemies at Google, including top ad product execs Susan Wojcicki and Neal Mohan, among many others. Looks like the same old carpet baggers... Are there any actual programmers or former programmers occupying high-ranking decision-making positions at these tech companies?!
      - belluchan 13y ago
        > Are there any actual programmers or former programmers occupying high-ranking decision-making positions at these tech companies?! Why would it matter if the leaders had ever programmed before?
        yarrel 13y ago
        They might have the first clue what it is the company does for a start.
        travem 13y ago
        You mean advertising?
      - valas 13y ago
        Marissa was a programmer.
        gcb0 13y ago
        ...barely.
  - randallu 13y ago
    Also: http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoo-coo-henrique-de-castro-is-out-2014-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoo-coo-henrique-de-castro-...
    - Steko 13y ago
      Hilarious moment in the linked older article when De Castro asked Tim Cook a question at All Things D: http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoo-coo-henrique-de-castro-2012-10 http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoo-coo-henrique-de-castro-... (video embedded near the end, question at the 1:34:30 mark.)
      - omegaworks 13y ago
        >(which may be due to English is not his first language) Douchiness knows no language barrier. There's a lot of nonverbal communication that conveys compassion - or lack thereof. >Dos Equis commercials Doesn't this feel a bit degrading?
      - defen 13y ago
        Wow. Dictionary definition of "smug" right there.
      - dredmorbius 13y ago
        For a better video experience (I couldn't get the BI video to play for the ATD segment): http://fixyt.com/watch?v=eUAPHgiEniQ http://fixyt.com/watch?v=eUAPHgiEniQ Again at the 1:34:30 mark
    - jamra 13y ago
      I think there's a huge problem trying to have someone non-technical take charge of a technical task without a proper engineering team behind him. The automatic buying of ads seems like a difficult task. I don't think a CEO like MM can buy big execs to solve this problem for Yahoo. They need teams of intelligent engineers in addition to experienced execs. Taking this into account with all the talent acquisitions Yahoo has been doing, it's becoming clear that Yahoo will not be able to create any kind of technical infrastructure. At best, they can hold onto their current revenue model and try to reduce their costs as much as possible.
- cpeterso 13y ago
  What does "knives" mean?
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - suitcase 13y ago
    I think he's referring to Marissa Mayer skeptics that question whether she's leading an actual turnaround or not.
  - shalalala 13y ago
    It's a references to the 'the knives are out'. http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/the+knives+are+out http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/the+knives+are+out
leothekim 13y ago
Some more information here: http://www.businessinsider.com/after-only-15-months-marissa-mayer-fired-her-first-major-hire-2014-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/after-only-15-months-marissa-...
arturventura 13y ago
I have a feeling this guy is going to appear somehow, somewhere in the Portugal Telecom / Oi merger.
smegel 13y ago
You lure advertisers by building great products people want to use (and spend time on). Has Yahoo released anything truly noteworthy since she became CEO?
- oysteruu7 13y ago
  Their digest and weather app are both rated 4.5 stars in the app store and received very positive reviews. Digest is featured in the app store right now. These apps are both (presumably) something people use every day.
  - TylerE 13y ago
    Maybe. But who exactly is passionate about a weather app?
tptacek 13y ago
Stuff like this happens all the time. Tim Cook fired John Browett, who was recruited with great fanfare from a huge retail chain.
- ChuckMcM 13y ago
  One of my first managers confided in me that there were no bad employees, there were just bad fits. And over the years I have really come to appreciate the wisdom of that. I've watched folks who were useless in one environment become superstars in another, and superstars, recruited with much fanfare, who just couldn't get it together when their environment changed. What I haven't found is some magical factor which allows me to predict if someone will do well or not in some environment. Given the short time between announcement and departure date, I'd be curious to know how that worked. At Sun one of the VP's was told it find a new job and he basically walked out that afternoon and did not return. Other situations have had transition periods. I recognize its a sort of morbid curiosity, wondering if it is something I would do in a similar situation. I believe it's the curiosity factor that drives interest in these stories, not any intrinsic news value.
dredmorbius 13y ago
The Register hasn't posted its bang-laden made-redundant story yet, but here's their take from when De Castro joined YHOO: Yahoo! hires! top! Googler! to! revamp! operations! Marissa Mayer gets her man – for a price http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/15/yahoo_hires_coo/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/15/yahoo_hires_coo/ "Henrique is an incredibly accomplished and rigorous business leader, and I'm personally excited to have him join Yahoo!'s strong leadership team," said Mayer in a statement. "His operational experience in Internet advertising and his proven success in structuring and scaling global organizations make him the perfect fit for Yahoo! as we propel the business to its next phase of growth." So! Much! For! All! That!
ctrl 13y ago
What's Yahoo? I'll google it.

41 points by leothekim 13y ago

mathattack 13y ago

It sounds like the knives and "I told you so" peanut gallery are out in force on this one.

yajoe 13y ago
Mind elaborating, even if it's wild speculation and rumor? I haven't been following YHOO closely to know the backstory or context behind this individual.
- Steko 13y ago
  http://recode.net/2014/01/15/henrique-de-castro-out-at-yahoo/ http://recode.net/2014/01/15/henrique-de-castro-out-at-yahoo...
  - yapcguy 13y ago
    >Considered whip-smart and clever, the former business consultant also made a number of powerful enemies at Google, including top ad product execs Susan Wojcicki and Neal Mohan, among many others. Looks like the same old carpet baggers... Are there any actual programmers or former programmers occupying high-ranking decision-making positions at these tech companies?!
    - belluchan 13y ago
      > Are there any actual programmers or former programmers occupying high-ranking decision-making positions at these tech companies?! Why would it matter if the leaders had ever programmed before?
      - yarrel 13y ago
        They might have the first clue what it is the company does for a start.
        travem 13y ago
        You mean advertising?
    - valas 13y ago
      Marissa was a programmer.
      - gcb0 13y ago
        ...barely.
- randallu 13y ago
  Also: http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoo-coo-henrique-de-castro-is-out-2014-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoo-coo-henrique-de-castro-...
  - Steko 13y ago
    Hilarious moment in the linked older article when De Castro asked Tim Cook a question at All Things D: http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoo-coo-henrique-de-castro-2012-10 http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoo-coo-henrique-de-castro-... (video embedded near the end, question at the 1:34:30 mark.)
    - omegaworks 13y ago
      >(which may be due to English is not his first language) Douchiness knows no language barrier. There's a lot of nonverbal communication that conveys compassion - or lack thereof. >Dos Equis commercials Doesn't this feel a bit degrading?
    - defen 13y ago
      Wow. Dictionary definition of "smug" right there.
    - dredmorbius 13y ago
      For a better video experience (I couldn't get the BI video to play for the ATD segment): http://fixyt.com/watch?v=eUAPHgiEniQ http://fixyt.com/watch?v=eUAPHgiEniQ Again at the 1:34:30 mark
  - jamra 13y ago
    I think there's a huge problem trying to have someone non-technical take charge of a technical task without a proper engineering team behind him. The automatic buying of ads seems like a difficult task. I don't think a CEO like MM can buy big execs to solve this problem for Yahoo. They need teams of intelligent engineers in addition to experienced execs. Taking this into account with all the talent acquisitions Yahoo has been doing, it's becoming clear that Yahoo will not be able to create any kind of technical infrastructure. At best, they can hold onto their current revenue model and try to reduce their costs as much as possible.
cpeterso 13y ago
What does "knives" mean?
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- suitcase 13y ago
  I think he's referring to Marissa Mayer skeptics that question whether she's leading an actual turnaround or not.
- shalalala 13y ago
  It's a references to the 'the knives are out'. http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/the+knives+are+out http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/the+knives+are+out

leothekim 13y ago

Some more information here: http://www.businessinsider.com/after-only-15-months-marissa-mayer-fired-her-first-major-hire-2014-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/after-only-15-months-marissa-...

arturventura 13y ago

I have a feeling this guy is going to appear somehow, somewhere in the Portugal Telecom / Oi merger.

smegel 13y ago

You lure advertisers by building great products people want to use (and spend time on). Has Yahoo released anything truly noteworthy since she became CEO?

oysteruu7 13y ago
Their digest and weather app are both rated 4.5 stars in the app store and received very positive reviews. Digest is featured in the app store right now. These apps are both (presumably) something people use every day.
- TylerE 13y ago
  Maybe. But who exactly is passionate about a weather app?

tptacek 13y ago

Stuff like this happens all the time. Tim Cook fired John Browett, who was recruited with great fanfare from a huge retail chain.

ChuckMcM 13y ago
One of my first managers confided in me that there were no bad employees, there were just bad fits. And over the years I have really come to appreciate the wisdom of that. I've watched folks who were useless in one environment become superstars in another, and superstars, recruited with much fanfare, who just couldn't get it together when their environment changed. What I haven't found is some magical factor which allows me to predict if someone will do well or not in some environment. Given the short time between announcement and departure date, I'd be curious to know how that worked. At Sun one of the VP's was told it find a new job and he basically walked out that afternoon and did not return. Other situations have had transition periods. I recognize its a sort of morbid curiosity, wondering if it is something I would do in a similar situation. I believe it's the curiosity factor that drives interest in these stories, not any intrinsic news value.

dredmorbius 13y ago

The Register hasn't posted its bang-laden made-redundant story yet, but here's their take from when De Castro joined YHOO: Yahoo! hires! top! Googler! to! revamp! operations! Marissa Mayer gets her man – for a price http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/15/yahoo_hires_coo/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/15/yahoo_hires_coo/ "Henrique is an incredibly accomplished and rigorous business leader, and I'm personally excited to have him join Yahoo!'s strong leadership team," said Mayer in a statement. "His operational experience in Internet advertising and his proven success in structuring and scaling global organizations make him the perfect fit for Yahoo! as we propel the business to its next phase of growth." So! Much! For! All! That!

ctrl 13y ago

What's Yahoo? I'll google it.