Yahoo’s ex-CEO told board he had cancer

Scott Thompson resigned over the weekend as CEO of Yahoo Inc. He spoke to the board of directors and told them he had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He discussed his situation last week before he resigned.

The decision for him to resign was partially due to his cancer diagnosis, according to a person familiar who spoke to The Wall Street Journal.

Thompson will be replaced by Ross Levinsohn, a senior Yahoo Executive who will become interim CEO. Thompson apparently told a few colleagues that he didn't want to publicly discuss his cancer diagnosis wanting to keep the details private. He told a few people that he is beginning to get treatment now for the cancer.

Yahoo are also planning to appoint several new board members. The Wall Street Journal added “The cancer news is another twist in the recent events at Yahoo, which over the weekend also said it would appoint several new board members including Third Point head Dan Loeb. Third Point for months had been waging a proxy fight to win seats on Yahoo's board. The hedge fund had spotted Mr. Thompson's misstated academic record in a Yahoo regulatory filing in late April and disclosed its finding on May 3.

Pressure mounted on the board while it sought answers as to how the mistake was made, and why the error had also been contained in historical press articles about Mr. Thompson and on corporate websites that described his biography, most recently that of eBay Inc.'s PayPal.

While Mr. Thompson's biography in the Yahoo regulatory filing and other websites said he had earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and computer science, he only had earned an accounting degree.”

Kitguru says: Thompson will get a severance pay deal with Yahoo, although the amount has not been disclosed.

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