From 1994 until early 2000, Yahoo! was the depiction of the Internet. Then came Google, which, with their search engine and email service, began to dominate. Yahoo! shares in 2000 were $118.75 today they are worth only $15.62, three months after the company has fired nearly 2,000 employees.
The brand that once dominated the online advertising market is now surpassed by Google and Facebook, as the number of commercials at Yahoo! is half what it was in 2009. There were four employees sitting on the CEO chair in the past four years. And today, the new leader, Marissa Mayer, is confident the she can salvage the company.
Problems at Yahoo!
Marissa Mayer must have in mind three very important purposes, said analyst Shar VanBoskirk:
1. Define a clear strategy for Yahoo! brand;
2. Say goodbye to products that do not fit the new strategy;
3. To make this plan public, presenting it clearly, so that users know clearly what is and how can they use Yahoo!.
Even though the experience and knowledge of the new CEO are impressive, VanBoskirk believes that the young executive is not exactly what Yahoo! needs. Mayer worked mostly in the creation of new products, not marketing or establishing management strategies, segments of the brand that have to be reassessed.
Analyst Ken Sena does not agree with VanBoskirk. He believes that Marissa Mayer’s experience will help Yahoo! and considers that, to be able to recover the company, she will have to attract dedicated and talented employees. Also, says Sena, Yahoo! will have to give up some products and focus on increasing mobile Internet segment.
Yahoo! needs to innovate and improve Yahoo! Mail and Yahoo! Messenger, making them easier to use for mobile phones, because this is the trend, experts say.
Marissa Mayer will receive, a salary package that will reach $100 million, for a period of five years, write journalists from the Wall Street Journal. Mayer joined Yahoo! after a career of 13 years at the rival Google group. Her salary package will include $5.4 million for the second half of this year and about $20 million per year for the remainder. Also, bonuses. Some are related to performance targets, it reads a document sent to the U.S. stock market. Mayer’s main goal is to succeed to revitalize the operations of the group. At least this is what Yahoo! wants. Innovative web-development services.
Predecessors of the current CEO, Scott Thompson and Carol Bartz, received pay packages worth $27 million and $44.6 million, respectively. Both left Yahoo! before their contract expired. Thompson resigned after five months, and Bartz was fired in 2011 after two years and a half as the group leader. Remuneration package of the new head of the group includes restricted stock valued at $14 million, which should provide “partial compensation” for Mayer, after she gave up some benefits from Google. In addition, Mayer could receive loyalty bonuses worth $15 million over five years. Yahoo!’s net profit in the second quarter fell 4% to $227 million. Revenue fell 1%, to $1.22 billion.
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