Yahoo CEO Apologizes In Memo, Board Meets: Reuters

Yahoo Inc’s board convened on Monday afternoon to discuss the mounting upset surrounding Chief Executive Scott Thompson, who has apologized to employees after being accused last week by activist investor Daniel Loeb of padding his resume, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

The source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the board meeting was expected to address aspects of an internal review, including which board members would participate.

Thompson issued an apology for the fallout from disclosures about his academic credentials in an emailed memo to Yahoo employees on Monday, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.

The memo came hours after Loeb, chief executive of hedge fund Third Point, which holds 5.8 percent of Yahoo’s shares, formally demanded in a letter that the Internet company turn over all records related to Thompson’s hiring.

“I want you to know how deeply I regret how this issue has affected the company and all of you,” Thompson wrote in his first extended memo to employees since the disclosures emerged on May 3. “We have all been working very hard to move the company forward and this has had the opposite effect. For that, I take full responsibility, and I want to apologize to you.”

Thompson added that he would “respect” the board’s plans to conduct a thorough and independent review.

“I am hopeful that this matter will be concluded promptly,” he wrote. “But, in the meantime, we have a lot of work to do.”

Yahoo, whose revenue slid by more than a fifth last year, brought in Thompson, former president of eBay Inc subsidiary PayPal, as chief executive in January, five months after Carol Bartz was fired.