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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

#151

Post by ryanwaggoner »

smacktoward wrote: post #34
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 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

Wow, I feel stupid now. Maybe I didn't think of Apple because it was an original founder returning and fixing things?

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

#153

Post by JPKab »

johnnybgoode wrote: post #67

Wow, 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 This is a hilarious situation.

This is typical Yahoo bullshit. They hire a CEO not for the primary reason of effectiveness or experience, but instead for their perception of effectiveness in the media. Is she an improvement over Bartz? No doubt, because the first time I saw Bartz discussing Yahoo's future several years ago, it was immediately clear to me that they weren't getting out of their tailspin. Is Mayer a genius? I'm sure of it. But from all the things I've heard from Google employees and their dealings with her, I suspect that a lot of the hype she receives in the media is due to the lack of female role models in the Valley. She damned sure doesn't sound like a good leader. Biting off heads, interrupting people mid sentence, forgetting what happened in the last meeting....... this is the epitome of somebody who has bitten off more than they can chew. The sad part is that there are so, so many women in the Valley that deserve the attention she gets.

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

#154

Post by jarek »

chrischen wrote: post #135
falicon wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well in this case it's an original Lamborghini, but it was in a horrible wreck and has been sitting at the bottom of the sea for about ten years... So you can dredge it up, and perhaps restore it to it's original glory...or you can go out and build your own, new dream car from scratch. Either way it's going to be a TON of work to get to a truly valuable (and fun to drive) vehicle...

Also even if you restore the Lamborghini you will own way less than 30% of it.

I'm not sure the analogy stretches quite that far. Do you really care how many percent you own if you can drive it whenever you like and modify it however you please?

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

#155

Post by dkrich »

One 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.

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

#157

Post by itsprofitbaron »

gdilla wrote: post #113
backspace wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

And if she crashes and burns, she gets what, 50million in an exit package? Why not take that.

Marissa was an early employee at Google, she was employee 20 there and Google's first female hire - she's worth ~$300 Million, I doubt she's doing this for the money.

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

#158

Post by smacktoward »

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #151
smacktoward wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple 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

Wow, I feel stupid now. Maybe I didn't think of Apple because it was an original founder returning and fixing things?

Don'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.

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

#159

Post by barkingcat »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #132
uptown wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And if she had stayed at Google, what would be the next step for her career-wise? She went from vice president of search products to overseeing location and local services. Now she's CEO. You don't think that'll motivate her?

I think it not surprising that she left Google to be a CEO somewhere, it was just surprising that she picked Yahoo. Another one of those VP -> CEO jumps that was interesting to watch was Ed Zander (Sun Micro -> Motorola). What I was expecting was that she would leave and start some sort cross between 'solve a world issue' with 'easy accessibility' kinds of UI. At Google her strength was having a clear idea of how to…

I'd say the "premier digital media company" at the moment is Netflix. They have their problems and troubles, but they have enough brand recognition and enough good content (albeit produced by other people) to quality for that moniker.

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

#160

Post by azylman »

azylman wrote: post #149
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 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.

For 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-may...

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