Yahoo! to Appoint Terry S. Semel Chairman and CEO
Globally-Respected Media and Entertainment Industry
Leader Brings Broad Experience Growing Diverse Businesses
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - April 17, 2001 - Yahoo! Inc.
(Nasdaq: YHOO), a leading global Internet communications, commerce
and media company, today announced that its Board of Directors
will appoint Terry S. Semel as Yahoo!'s new chairman and chief
executive officer, effective May 1, 2001. Tim Koogle will be
named vice chairman, a transitional role he is expected to retain
until August 2001, and will then remain on Yahoo!'s Board of
Directors. President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Mallett
and Chief Financial Officer Susan Decker continue in their current
roles and will report to Semel.
"Terry is a strong leader with a distinguished track
record, and embodies all the characteristics that make him uniquely
suited to be Yahoo!'s next chairman and CEO," said Jerry
Yang, co-founder and Chief Yahoo. "He helped build one of
the world's largest and most successful media enterprises and
has established and operated diverse global businesses at large
scale. Terry's vast and successful professional experience complements
our current people and assets. His marketing expertise, brand
building strengths, creativity, passion for our business, and
reputation for setting and achieving high standards and goals
while driving winning strategies, makes Terry the clear choice
for this role. We have spent a considerable amount of time with
Terry, and he clearly understands the tremendous opportunity
ahead for Yahoo!. His background positions him to help Yahoo!
innovate for future growth."
"Yahoo! is a company with incredible potential. Yahoo!'s
management team has rapidly and successfully built an industry-leading
global company with the world's largest audience, a strong brand
and a talented employee base, and I am proud to be leading the
team that is going to enable Yahoo! to achieve its next level
of growth," said Semel. "The opportunities for combining
traditional marketing and media with the interactivity of the
Internet are extraordinary. I look forward to applying my background
to help Yahoo! successfully leverage both and further strengthen
its position as one of the world's most preeminent global businesses.
This is a unique opportunity and challenge that I embrace with
great passion."
Semel is among the most successful and respected leaders in
the media and entertainment industry. A 24-year veteran of Warner
Bros., Semel is noted for his role as chairman and co-chief executive
officer. Semel and his partner, Robert Daly, helped build Warner
Bros. into one of the world's largest and most creative media
and entertainment enterprises, reaching billions of consumers
worldwide through its vast stable of properties. They are credited
with building the company from a single revenue source generating
less than $1 billion to nearly $11 billion total revenues from
multiple, diverse businesses in 50 countries worldwide. Under
their leadership, Warner Bros. achieved 18 consecutive years
of record profits and revenues. In addition, Semel has a proven
reputation for recruiting and building strong leadership teams
to effectively run complex businesses. Most of the executives
who he recruited and developed for Warner Bros. continue to lead
many of the company's most important divisions today.
Before joining Warner Bros., Semel was president of Walt Disney's
Theatrical Distribution division and previously was president
of CBS' Theatrical Distribution division. Semel is currently
on the Board of Directors of Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, Revlon,
Inc. and the Guggenheim Museum.
Yahoo! also announced that Semel purchased one million shares
of Yahoo! common stock from the company in a private placement
transaction.
Media and Analyst Conference Call
Yahoo! will hold a press and analyst conference call today at
1:00 p.m. EDT/10:00 a.m. PDT. Terry Semel will join Jerry Yang,
Tim Koogle and Jeff Mallett on the conference call. A live Webcast
of the conference call can be accessed at http://webevents.broadcast.com/pressconf/041701.
In addition, a replay of the call will be available for 48 hours
following the conference call and can be accessed through the
"Conference Calls" area of the company's Investor Relations
Web site at www.yahoo.com/info/investor,
or by calling (800) 633-8284, reservation No. 18632194.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a global Internet communications, commerce and
media company that offers a comprehensive branded network of
services to more than 192 million individuals each month worldwide.
As the first online navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com
is the leading guide in terms of traffic, advertising, household
and business user reach. Yahoo! is the No. 1 Internet brand globally
and reaches the largest audience worldwide. The company also
provides online business and enterprise services designed to
enhance the productivity and Web presence of Yahoo!'s clients.
These services include Corporate Yahoo!, a popular customized
enterprise portal solution; audio and video streaming; store
hosting and management; and Web site tools and services. The
company's global Web network includes 24 World properties. Yahoo!
has offices in Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Canada
and the United States, and is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.
This press release and its attachments contain
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties
concerning Yahoo!'s expected performance (as described without
limitation in the quotations from current and future management
in this release), as well as Yahoo!'s strategic and operational
plans. Actual results may differ materially from the results
predicted and reported results should not be considered as an
indication of future performance. The potential risks and uncertainties
include, among others, the slower spending environment for advertising
sales, including the lack of access to capital to fund early
stage companies; the actual increases in demand by customers
for Yahoo!'s premium and corporate services; the ability to successfully
change the customer mix among Yahoo!'s advertising customers;
general economic conditions; the ability to adjust to changes
in personnel, including management changes; and the dependence
on third parties for technology, content and distribution. All
information set forth in this release and its attachments is
as of April 17, 2001, and Yahoo! undertakes no duty to update
this information. More information about potential factors that
could affect the company's business and financial results is
included in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2000, including (without limitation)
under the captions, "Risk Factors" and "Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations," which is on file with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Additional information will also be set forth in
those sections in Yahoo!'s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for
the three-month period ended March 31, 2001, which will be filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the near future.
# # #
Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are registered
trademarks of Yahoo! Inc.
All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of
their respective owners.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Photo available on BW PhotoWire/AP PhotoExpres and on Business
Wire's Web site at http://www.businesswire.com. Graphical images
are available at http://docs.yahoo.com/info/pr/semel.html.
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