Yahoo names Maynard Webb as chairman of the board

Webb, a former CEO of LiveOps and COO of eBay, has been interim chairman since April

(Updated to reflect confirmation and comment from Yahoo)

Yahoo's has finally decided to name a new chairman of its board of directors, naming Maynard Webb in the role.

Webb has been a member of the Yahoo board since February 2012, and has been serving as interim chairman since April. This move will make the position permanent, it has been confirmed to VatorNews.

"Maynard Webb’s leadership and guidance have been an invaluable part of our board since he joined it in 2012. We are honored that Maynard will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board," a Yahoo spokesperson said in a statement.

Webb is a veteran of the tech industry, having served as the former CEO of LiveOps, a position he held from 2006 to 2011. Prior to that he also served as president of technology, and then COO, of eBay from 1999 to 2006.

He replaced outgoing chairman Fred Amoroso, who decided not to seek reelection back in April. Amoroso had been appointed as chairman in the wake of the Scott Thompson resume fudging scandal and stayed on the board through the end of June.

Upon his resignation, Amoroso said that he felt comfortable leaving given how the company has turned around under the leadership of CEO Marissa Mayer.

“When I took the position as chairman, I told the board that my intention was to serve for one year, in order to help Yahoo! during a critical time of transformation. In that time, Yahoo! hired a great new CEO, brought on a fantastic management team, revitalized the employee base, and has begun to release top notch new products," Amoroso said at the time. "With Marissa at the helm and the leadership team in place, this is a natural time for me to transition off the board, consistent with what I said a year ago.”

With Webb permanently in charge, Yahoo will now have to get to work filling a slew of vacant seats on the board caused by some recent resignations.

At the same time that Amoroso was put in charge, three more members were appointed: Third Point CEO Dan Loeb, along with Harry Wilson and Michael Wolf, both Third Point nominees.

Loeb, caused a major shakeup at Yahoo last year, effectively kicking out Thompson over a lie on his resume, then using the opportunity to take over the board of directors at the company.

All three board members resigned after Yahoo repurchased 40 million shares of its stock owned by Third Point last month.

They, like Amorosa, said they were comfortable leaving because of Mayer, who has overseen a pretty remarkable turnaround in her first year and change at the helm.

In that time, the company's stock has risen over 75% as Mayer has gone a shopping spree, gobbling up start up talent to bring innovation back to the company. It has helped turn the company's image from one of a place where start ups go to die to one that is ripe with innovative talent.

VatorNews has also reached out to Maynard Webb for comment.

This news was reported by Bloomberg on Friday.

(Image source: https://maynardwebb.com)