Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz fired over phone, informs employees via her iPad
Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz was reportedly fired this week via telephone, prompting her to quickly e-mail her former employees from her iPad.
Rumors of Bartz's firing swirled this week, and were confirmed after she sent an e-mail to employees revealing she had been fired over the phone, according to TechCrunch. Her e-mail included the signature "Sent from my iPad."
"I am very sad to tell you that I've just been fired over the phone by Yahoo's Chairman of the Board," Bartz wrote. "It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward."
The search company has not yet named a permanent replacement for Bartz, who has served as CEO and a member of Yahoo's board since January of 2009, though Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse will fulfill duties in the meantime. The company's board is said to have become increasingly impatient with the lack of turnaround at the company under the leadership of the 62-year-old.
Bartz made headlines in the Apple community last September when she predicted the demise of Apple's fledgling iAd mobile advertising network. She said she believed Apple's control over advertising content would drive partners away and cause iAd to "fall apart.'
Apple and Yahoo have partnered on a number of projects over the years, and Yahoo still powers the native Weather and Stocks applications found on the iPhone. The two also joined forces with Starbucks last year to offer free e-books, movies and music to customers who visit the coffee chain.
Apple was even rumored to be among those considering to make an offer to purchase Yahoo back in 2008. But it was Apple's rival, Microsoft, who made an unsolicited $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo that year that was rejected by the company and then-CEO Jerry Yang.
Rumors of Bartz's firing swirled this week, and were confirmed after she sent an e-mail to employees revealing she had been fired over the phone, according to TechCrunch. Her e-mail included the signature "Sent from my iPad."
"I am very sad to tell you that I've just been fired over the phone by Yahoo's Chairman of the Board," Bartz wrote. "It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward."
The search company has not yet named a permanent replacement for Bartz, who has served as CEO and a member of Yahoo's board since January of 2009, though Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse will fulfill duties in the meantime. The company's board is said to have become increasingly impatient with the lack of turnaround at the company under the leadership of the 62-year-old.
Bartz made headlines in the Apple community last September when she predicted the demise of Apple's fledgling iAd mobile advertising network. She said she believed Apple's control over advertising content would drive partners away and cause iAd to "fall apart.'
Apple and Yahoo have partnered on a number of projects over the years, and Yahoo still powers the native Weather and Stocks applications found on the iPhone. The two also joined forces with Starbucks last year to offer free e-books, movies and music to customers who visit the coffee chain.
Apple was even rumored to be among those considering to make an offer to purchase Yahoo back in 2008. But it was Apple's rival, Microsoft, who made an unsolicited $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo that year that was rejected by the company and then-CEO Jerry Yang.
Comments
I am very sad to tell you that I?ve just been fired over the phone by Microsoft's Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.
Steve
Sent from my Zune
I've never seen an iAd myself, so her view that iAd might fall apart could seem plausible to some.
To all,
I am very sad to tell you that I?ve just been fired over the phone by Microsoft's Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.
Steve
Sent from my Zune
What would make this even funnier would be if it too was signed "Sent from my iPad"
What would make this even funnier would be if it too was signed "Sent from my iPad"
I thought of that too, but "Sent from my Zune" just sounds even more pathetic
I thought of that too, but "Sent from my Zune" just sounds even more pathetic
How about, "Sent from my HP TouchPad"??? That seems more pathetic
How about, "Sent from my HP TouchPad"??? That seems more pathetic
Sent from my Kin?
Having a CEO who had to be fired by phone - or having a Chairman that didn't know to contact HR/IT and have her network privileges revoked first...
But seriously, Yahoo has great potential. I liken them to a pile of Legos sitting in the corner - a great opportunity... But most people will just build something that nobody else recognizes.
They need to regroup. Get rid of the clown pants interface. And make me want to use their product again.
Who's here use Yahoo Search? Quick poll....
Yahoo Search is my default as well. Works well enough in most situations. If I think Yahoo is not giving me good results, I'll try Bing then Scroogle. The last thing I'll do is try Google.
lol, the take-away from this for the Apple fan sites is that she sent it from her iPad.
And that Yahoo partners with Apple on things. And she made some iAd predictions. And she must have some potential if she uses Apple products.
And it's a slow rumors day.
I don't like Yahoo search. I use the anonymous http://Ixquick.com. It aggregates the top search results from the top search engines. If I want Google results without letting Google know what I'm searching for I use the anonymous http://www.StartingPage.com.
Yahoo news is my home page. I get my news from them. What I don't like is their censorship of hot topics. A few weeks ago there was a story of New Orleans police being convicted of violating the rights of citizens and falsifying reports after Hurricane Katrina. I read the story just fifteen minutes after it was posted. There were already 405 negative comments about people hating cops and their corruption. Many were wondering why the cops weren't charged with murder because one of them shot a citizen in the back and killed him as he ran away. The cop claimed it was self defense.
I posted my negative comment towards cops too. I went back ten minutes later to see if anybody had commented on my post. Yahoo had removed all comments and prevented further comments. Less than one hour later Yahoo pulled the story off their home page. Yahoo usually lets stories stay on their home page for one day.
Firing by phone is so low-rent.
At least it wasn't via text message.
Who's here use Yahoo Search? Quick poll....
I use it once in a blue moon when I can't find something on Google.
I don't 'know' the woman, but she did great things while at Autodesk. For a 62 year old, she looks pretty good.
I've never seen an iAd myself, so her view that iAd might fall apart could seem plausible to some.
I have seen and used them. They are what's next for mobile ads. Like many things Apple they are a bit ahead of the curve. As always, competitors either have to get on board, create something better, or condemn. The latter is the default response 99% of the time by lazy, shortsighted execs.
I recall the anger directed at Carol on this forum when her gratuitous criticisms of Apple were posted. The thought is that she should have directed that excess energy she used to criticize iAd to improving her own company. Seems the chickens have come home to roost. Or in her case, roast.
- Sent from my Desktop PC