"From founding this company (Yahoo!) to guiding its growth into a trusted global brand that is indispensible to millions of people, I have always sought to do what is best for our franchise," Yang said in a statement on Monday.
A dot-com billionaire who transformed the Internet space, ends a very high profile career at Yahoo as he decides to step down as the chief executive of Yahoo!
Better known as the co-founder of Yahoo, Jerry Yang made great strides in the Internet industry, was the key to Yahoo's success, in making it one of the world's most popular websites used by about 500 million people worldwide.
His focus on corporate strategy, technology, strategic business partnerships and international joint ventures and recruiting key talent were the key to transforming Yahoo into its present stature. Many believe the company could have remanined the leader in the Internet search space but the company faltered, missed many opportunities, and Yang is perhaps paying the price for some wrong decisions.
The company lauds Yang's efforts, "Over the past year and a half, despite extraordinary challenges and distractions, Jerry Yang has led the repositioning of Yahoo! on an open platform model as well as the improved alignment of costs and revenues," said Roy Bostock, Yahoo chairman in a statement.
However, Yang's rocking career hit many hurdles in the last 18 months leading to his exit.
"If Microsoft returned with a real offer and a real proposal," Yang said recently, "we would be happy to listen."
Yang's decision to step down follows criticism on number of issues including his move to reject Microsoft's $47.5-billion buyout offer.
Yang rejected a hostile takeover bid from Microsoft, which offered $33 a share, worth a total of more than $47 billion.
Yahoo has since been trading at between $10 and $12 a share. The rejection of the Microsoft offer led to shareholders moving against Yang.
"Yahoo! was founded on the belief that access to information can enrich people's lives, and the principles we unveil today reflect our determination that our actions match our values around the world."
Besides, the Microsoft takeover fiasco, Yahoo's advertisement deal with search engine major Google also fell through, after the latter pulled out citing regulatory hurdles.
Yahoo's talks with Time Warner's AOL too did not materialise.
At the recent Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Yang said Microsoft should still buy the company. "I don't think it's a bad idea at all, at the right price whatever that price is. We're willing to sell the company," he said, perhaps realizing the folly of rejecting the Microsoft bid.
"The essence of Yahoo is being defined today," Yang said. "We have to be incredibly relevant to the consumer. We want you to start your day at Yahoo."
Born in Taiwan on November 6, 1968, Yang moved to the United States with his family when he was around 10 years old and was brought up in San Jose, California.
While studying electrical engineering at Stanford University, Yang and a classmate, David Filo discovered the huge potential for online information, the duo had stumbled upon one of the greatest ideas in the Internet space.
Yang and Filo used to make lists of their favourite web sites in their leisure time. They called the directory "Jerry's Guide to the World Wide Web."
"A ll of you know that I have always, and will always, bleed purple," he wrote in an e-mail to his staff, referring to Yahoo's corporate colour.
In 1994, they decided to publish their lists on the Web. The idea was a instant hit among VCs and funds flowed in.
They founded Internet portal Yahoo in 1995 and Yang became a billionaire the next year as the company went public. It was a journey of many ups and downs for Yahoo. The company survived the dot-com bust, and remains one of the most popular sites on the Web attracting millions of users everyday.
Yang was named the chief executive officer in June 2007 in a bid to turn around the company's fortunes, but two major decisions of rejecting the Microsoft offer and a failed advertising deal with Google and several restructuring moves spelled more trouble for Yang.
Yang said in a post on the company's blog on Monday night: "No one is celebrating about the outcome of these past three months. . . and no one should. We live and work in a competitive world and the web is only going to get more competitive. . ."
Yahoo is the second-most popular search engine after Google and is second largest in terms of advertisement revenues.
Yang and Filo had pioneered the business of selling advertising on their popular search engine. But Yahoo never grew to the stature it should have. Today Google, which was non-existent when Yahoo was born, is the undisputed leader.
Yang has been deeply involved in running Yahoo, much to the fury of shareholders who believe that he has put personal interests ahead of the shareholders'.
Yahoo said Yang will step down as CEO once a replacement is named, but will retain a strategic role in the company.
According to Forbes magazine, Yang is the 524th richest person in the world with a fortune estimated at $2.23 billion.
"People who know me know I don't have an ego about remaining independent versus not remaining independent," Yahoo chief Jerry Yang told the Web 2.0 Summit.
What next for Yang?
The 40-year-old Yang would take the role as 'Chief Yahoo', a corporate advisory role and would will on the company's board.
"Having set Yahoo on a new, more open path, the time is right for me to transition the CEO role and our global talent to a new leader," he said in an e-mail to the employees.
"I will continue to focus on global strategy and to do everything I can to help Yahoo realize its full potential and enhance its leading culture of technology and product excellence and innovation," he said.
Jerry and the Yahoo board have had an ongoing dialogue about succession timing, and we all agree that now is the right time to make the transition to a new CEO who can take the company to the next level," Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock said in a statement.
"We are deeply grateful to Jerry for his many contributions as CEO over the past 18 months, and we are pleased that he plans to stay actively involved with Yahoo as a key executive and member of the board," Bostock said.
"If you are not in the game to win, you shouldn't be in the game. That is how I encourage the whole company to think about it," he said at Web 2.0 Summit.
Who will be the next Yahoo chief?
Yang in a letter to the staffers said that he would be participating in the search for his successor.
"I will always do what is right for this great company," Yang wrote in an e-mail to employees.
Chairman Roy Bostock, working with the independent directors and in consultation with Jerry Yang, is leading the process of assessing potential candidates and determining finalists for consideration. The search will encompass both internal and external candidates, and the board has retained Heidrick & Struggles, a leading international executive search firm, to assist in the process.
"Jerry and the board have had an ongoing dialogue about succession timing, and we all agree that now is the right time to make the transition to a new CEO who can take the company to the next level," said Bostock.
Analysts feel, Yang's exit may perhaps trigger Microsoft to make a bid again for Yahoo.
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