PayPal President Scott Thompson has been tapped to lead Yahoo Inc. as its chief executive.
Effective Jan. 9, Thompson will take over a lead role that has been occupied by Yahoo! chief financial officer Tim Morse, who has been serving as interim CEO since Yahoo! removed Carol Bartz from the top post in September. Thompson, who has been president of eBay Inc.'s PayPal since early 2008, also has been named to Yahoo!'s board of directors.
The 54-year-old Thompson joins Yahoo! at a time when the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Internet company is in the midst of a strategic review that includes potential investments, the sale of assets and taking the company private, although the company's chairman, Roy Bostock, said Wednesday that Yahoo! would almost certainly remain publicly traded, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Thompson has a track record of success at PayPal, the electronic payments company. Under his leadership, PayPal grew its user base from 50 million to 104 million active users in 190 countries, increased the number of merchant partners to around 8 million worldwide, and grew revenues from $1.8 billion to more than $4 billion. In spite of his achievements, at least one analyst thought Thompson's selection as Yahoo!'s new CEO was a surprise.
“Scott has a great track record in payments and has proven an effective executive at PayPal and has major tech chops and international experience, but at a content company, which Yahoo! has increasingly become, his experience is kind of lacking," Bloomberg quoted Ken Sena, an analyst at Evercore in New York, as stating.
In a note to PayPal employees this morning, eBay CEO John Donahoe said he would serve as their interim president and he wished Thompson the best.
