Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree • Hacker News Board

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#121

Post by pbreit » Fri, May 04, 2012, 12:38 AM UTC

seanp2k2 wrote: post #87

fleitz wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It "gave us confidence," says Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Wilkerson, former commander of the Marine Corps Reserve, who increased purchases of Lotus Notes after meeting Papows. "Jeff was a Phantom driver just like me."" This is exactly why people lie, because it doesn't matter how well your software works, what matters is that the people buying it feel like you're on the same team. Whether the CEO is a fighter pilot or not s…

Another thing too: what does it matter if you lie about the degree if /you can do the work/ ? Sure, it's unethical and I'm pretty sure it's illegal to lie outright about stuff like that to potential employers / boards, but again, if you come out and say "hey, I lied about this, but judge me on my output and not on my credentials"...that's gotta be worth something. That said, Yahoo isn't doing great, and I'm sure peop…

Lying matters at least a little bit, dontcha think?

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#122

Post by gwern » Fri, May 04, 2012, 12:42 AM UTC

havemurci wrote: post #48

They actually said they used a Google search to find the info. That is quite entertaining.

That part made me wonder how exactly they went searching for it. Do they have some standard checklist for companies they own and they have interns go down the list - 'ok, I've checked the legal database and he has no bankruptcies on file, next, step 73: Google to see whether his college days are mentioned anywhere..."?

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#123

Post by ditojim » Fri, May 04, 2012, 12:49 AM UTC

eli_gottlieb wrote: post #93

maeon3 wrote: post #23

His pay package for yahoo is 27 million dollars, i wonder how much of that he will keep after he gets the pink slip? Probably more than I'll ever earn in 5 of my lifetimes. It doesn't seem fair. But I guess demand for ceo's is high and quality ceo's are scarce.

Quality CEO's my ass. Salaries for CEOs are high because they work like the mob's "cleaners" a lot of the time, and because they come from an exclusive club who all hire each other.

or because it is a very difficult, high stress job that very few people can actually handle?

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#124

Post by zeteo » Fri, May 04, 2012, 12:57 AM UTC

pygorex wrote: post #69

It's such a stupid lie as well. He already has a degree in accounting and has loads of relevant experience. Why lie about an additional degree? What's happening here is liar's debt. Early in his career he must have made a decision to lie about his education, when no one was looking and when the chances of someone verifying the claim were low. He reused the lie on every subsequent job and it's stuck with him. It becam…

> Why lie about an additional degree?

While Computer Science degrees are common these days, they were rather rare among people who graduated in the '70s. So it does make him stand out among those with the same level of seniority (for a CEO position he's not competing with recent college graduates, you know).

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#125

Post by ilaksh » Fri, May 04, 2012, 1:06 AM UTC

I think that unfortunately this type of lying is so common and accepted that this case isn't exceptional. Its a relatively harmless lie compared to most. I would assume that many top executives, including this one, make less harmless lies on a daily basis.

What people fail to understand is that our entire way of life, the whole concept of business and finance, is based on deception and at the very least withholding of accurate information.

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#126

Post by pbreit » Fri, May 04, 2012, 1:07 AM UTC

There do appear to be some precedents: http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1154-Cover-Letters-...

But they don't necessarily support a resignation or firing. Thompson's other problem is that he has not made any friends (and for the wrong reasons)(patents, rebuffing Loeb, plan-less layoffs).

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#127

Post by WalterBright » Fri, May 04, 2012, 1:11 AM UTC

seanp2k2 wrote: post #87

fleitz wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It "gave us confidence," says Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Wilkerson, former commander of the Marine Corps Reserve, who increased purchases of Lotus Notes after meeting Papows. "Jeff was a Phantom driver just like me."" This is exactly why people lie, because it doesn't matter how well your software works, what matters is that the people buying it feel like you're on the same team. Whether the CEO is a fighter pilot or not s…

Another thing too: what does it matter if you lie about the degree if /you can do the work/ ? Sure, it's unethical and I'm pretty sure it's illegal to lie outright about stuff like that to potential employers / boards, but again, if you come out and say "hey, I lied about this, but judge me on my output and not on my credentials"...that's gotta be worth something. That said, Yahoo isn't doing great, and I'm sure peop…

I wouldn't hire someone who lied on their resume, as I like to be able to trust people I work with.

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#128

Post by mikeash » Fri, May 04, 2012, 1:14 AM UTC

seanp2k2 wrote: post #87

fleitz wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It "gave us confidence," says Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Wilkerson, former commander of the Marine Corps Reserve, who increased purchases of Lotus Notes after meeting Papows. "Jeff was a Phantom driver just like me."" This is exactly why people lie, because it doesn't matter how well your software works, what matters is that the people buying it feel like you're on the same team. Whether the CEO is a fighter pilot or not s…

Another thing too: what does it matter if you lie about the degree if /you can do the work/ ? Sure, it's unethical and I'm pretty sure it's illegal to lie outright about stuff like that to potential employers / boards, but again, if you come out and say "hey, I lied about this, but judge me on my output and not on my credentials"...that's gotta be worth something. That said, Yahoo isn't doing great, and I'm sure peop…

I'm happy to judge somebody on their output and not their credentials. But when their output includes lying about their credentials, I'm definitely going to judge them on that as well.

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#129

Post by jwco » Fri, May 04, 2012, 1:21 AM UTC

ShabbyDoo wrote: post #98

smoody wrote: post #25

Sort-of off topic: That guy has nothing on some of the other infamous CEO career lies... take the ex-CEO of Lotus (former makers of 123, Lotus Notes, etc). He lied about being a fighter pilot, having a PhD, and being a black belt in tae kwon do. source: http://www.zdnet.com/news/background-of-lotus-chief-under-fi... I think people get to a point where they start to believe their made-up mythology. Or perhaps they rea…

Yeah. This is an uninteresting lie relative to the more grandiose ones told by other executives. He added "and Computer Science" but accurately stated the level of his degree and institution. Any evidence that he has added "and Computer Science" in the past? Perhaps this is just sloppiness on the part of whomever prepared the SEC filings? And, the CEO, busy with trying to right the ship, just signed off with only a b…

Actually, I think this is an interesting lie for a different reason. Look at their no. 1 competitor, Google. They had a PhD in computer science as CEO and now a guy who well on his way to a PhD came up with an algorithm that, as far as I can tell, revolutionized search. Why did this Yahoo guy lie? Maybe he felt pressure to keep up with the Google guys, and thought a modest lie about a B.S. in Comp Sci would do the trick while going undetected. It might be sign of the times--that PhDs and PhD-equivalents are heading large companies. And a funny misread too--their 2nd foremost competitor in search was founded by a dude without a B.S. at all.

Addressing your other points: I feel like a CEO should be aware of how he/she is being perceived and correct any mistakes about his/her record.

Re: Yahoo CEO might have lied about having CS degree

#130

Post by paulsutter » Fri, May 04, 2012, 1:22 AM UTC

Many posts mention that he lied on his resume, Dan Loeb's press release didn't mention that. Did I miss something?

If it turns out -he- lied about his background, or knowingly let it slide, then I agree with all of you. But I'll wait for a response before forming an opinion.

Not all the facts are in yet. CEOs rely on others to prepare documents. It is -possible- that the person at paypal who wrote his bio made a mistake, that someone at yahoo just copied the paypal bio, and that he never noticed the mistake.