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Google’s Marissa Mayer Tapped as Yahoo’s Chief

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Re: Google’s Marissa Mayer Tapped as Yahoo’s Chief

#81

Post by thornofmight »

reso wrote: post #24
richardv wrote: post #12

Can 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 consu…

Non-competes are effectively illegal in California.

If I have a non-compete from employment in another state but then want to relocate to California, does that previous non-compete still apply?

Re: Google’s Marissa Mayer Tapped as Yahoo’s Chief

#82

Post by Sayter »

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #30

This 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.

Apple from the mid-1990's to present. CEO John Sculley had been instructed in 1993 to sell the company (unsuccessfully, to AT&T, IBM, etc.), before getting fired. He refers to the time as Apple's "near-death experience." In 1997, Steve Jobs returned to the company via NeXT and Microsoft invested a severely needed $150 million. Without those two events happening, it is highly possible that Apple would not still exist today (let alone being the most valued technology company in the world). That's about as radical of turnaround as possible.

Re: Google’s Marissa Mayer Tapped as Yahoo’s Chief

#83

Post by adventureful »

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #30

This 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.

IBM under Lou Gerstner is one of the greatest turn around stories in business history.

"How Lou Gerstner Got IBM To Dance" http://www.forbes.com/2002/11/11/cx_ld_1112gerstner.html

Also, Michael Dell returning to his company has been a solid turn around in regards to profitability and improvement in product quality, both of which had languished under the former chief. It doesn't show in the stock valuation because of substantial PE compression, but Michael Dell has taken the company from losing money briefly and having some accounting scandals, to a solid level of profitability in the last few years.

Re: Google’s Marissa Mayer Tapped as Yahoo’s Chief

#84

Post by TylerE »

jbyers wrote: post #71
TylerE wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did 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.

Corrected. 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.

No, 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.

Re: Google’s Marissa Mayer Tapped as Yahoo’s Chief

#85

Post by sharkweek »

backspace wrote: post #16
jbyers wrote: post #2

Wow. 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 su…

Actually, 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…

Matt Cutts seems to disagree about her work -- https://twitter.com/mattcutts/status/224963111222910976

Re: Google’s Marissa Mayer Tapped as Yahoo’s Chief

#86

Post by product50 »

adventureful wrote: post #32

This 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…

Good 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?

Re: Google’s Marissa Mayer Tapped as Yahoo’s Chief

#88

Post by kreilly »

yumraj wrote: post #63

Historical 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

I assume you mean Elop became CEO of Nokia, not MS.

Re: Google’s Marissa Mayer Tapped as Yahoo’s Chief

#89

Post by drumdance »

jbyers wrote: post #2

Wow. 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 su…

I 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.

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