以下新聞轉載自China Post
Yahoo fires chief executive Bartz
SAN FRANCISCO -- Yahoo Inc. fired Carol Bartz as CEO Tuesday after more than 2 1/2 years of financial lethargy that had convinced investors that she couldn't steer the Internet company to a long-promised turnaround.To fill the void, Yahoo's board named Tim Morse, its chief financial officer, as interim CEO. Bartz lured Morse away from computer chip-maker Altera Corp. two years ago to help her cuts costs. Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, California, said it is looking for a permanent replacement.
Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock, also a target of shareholder frustration, informed Bartz about the move over the phone, according to an e-mail the outgoing CEO sent from her iPad that was obtained by the All Things D technology blog. The blog first reported Bartz's ouster.
A Yahoo spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment late Tuesday.
Macquarie Securities analyst Ben Schachter called the handling of Bartz's departure “unseemly” and interpreted it as a sign of even more drama to come at Yahoo.In a research note late Tuesday, Schachter predicted there will be a wide range of conjecture about Yahoo's future, with the most likely speculation centering on Yahoo as a takeover target during a vulnerable time.
Alternatively, Yahoo could make a bold move itself by trying to buy the online video site Hulu.com, which is already talking to suitors, or trying to sell its 43 percent stake in the Alibaba Group, one of China's most prized Internet companies. Bartz's tense relationship with Alibaba CEO Jack Ma had fed investor dissatisfaction about her leadership.
In a Tuesday statement, Yahoo said it is undergoing a “comprehensive strategic review” in its latest effort to give investors a reason to buy its stock but didn't offer details.
Bartz, 63, led an austerity campaign helped boost Yahoo's earnings, but the company didn't increase its revenue even as the Internet ad market grew at a rapid clip.
The financial funk, along with recent setbacks in Yahoo's online search partnership with Microsoft Corp. and the Alibaba investment, proved to be Bartz's downfall. Her ouster comes with 16 months left on a four-year contract that she signed in January 2009.
That contract entitles her to severance payments that could be two to three times her annual salary and bonus, along with stock incentives she received during her tenure. Bartz received a US$2.2 million bonus to supplement her US$1 million salary last year.
Yahoo has now replaced three CEOs in a little over four years. During that time, Yahoo has lost ground in the Internet ad race to online search leader Google Inc. and Facebook even though its website remains among the world's most popular.
Known for her no-nonsense leadership and sometimes gruff language, Bartz arrived at Yahoo as a respected Silicon Valley executive who had won praise for turning around business software maker Autodesk Inc. But she had no previous experience in Internet advertising, the main way Yahoo makes money.That hole in her resume immediately raised questions whether she was qualified for the job, and those doubts only escalated as Yahoo's revenue continued to sag.
At first, Bartz blamed bad timing; she started the job during some of the bleakest months of the Great Recession. Later, she would say that she inherited such as mess from her two predecessors, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and former movie studio boss Terry Semel, and that it would take time to get Yahoo back on the right track.
At one point, she even compared her challenge to those that faced Steve Jobs when he returned to Apple Inc. as CEO in 1997.
Unlike Jobs, Bartz never was able to articulate a strategy to win over investors.
“She focused on plugging holes in the ship instead of turning it around,” said Gartner Inc. analyst Ray Valdes.
The disappointing performance was reflected in Yahoo's stock price, which closed Tuesday at US$12.91. That's 81 cents, or 7 percent, higher than where Yahoo shares stood when Bartz was hired as CEO. During the same period, Google's stock price has risen by more than US$200, or 66 percent, and the technology-driven Nasdaq composite index has climbed by 60 percent. A group of investors led by Goldman Sachs Group concluded privately held Facebook is worth US$50 billion in an appraisal done earlier this year. That's triple Yahoo's current market value.
Bartz never hit any of the price targets that the board set for her when she was hired. That means none of the 5 million stock options that she received upon signing her contract had vested by the time she was ushered out the door.
Investors seemed happy to see Bartz go. Yahoo shares gained 81 cents, or more than 6 percent, in extended trading late Tuesday.
生字
steer verb 掌舵
turnaround noun 徹底改變
interim adj. 暫時的
lure adv 引誘
shareholder noun 股東
frustration noun 挫敗
outer noun 罷黜;驅逐
handling noun 處理;操作
departure noun 離開
unseemly adj. 不合適的;不得體的
interpret verb 解釋;說明;詮釋
drama noun 戲劇性事件
conjecture noun 猜測;推測
speculation noun 臆測
vulnerable adj. 易受傷的
bold move ph. 大膽舉措
suitor noun 請求者
stake noun 股份
feed verb 餵養
undergo verb 經歷;忍受
comprehensive adj. 廣泛的
austerity noun 嚴酷
funk noun 畏縮
downfall noun 垮台
entitle verb 給...權力(資格)
severance noun 區別;不同;分開
incentive noun 激勵;刺激
tenure noun 任期
supplement verb 增補
gruff adj. 粗魯的;板著臉孔的
resume noun 履歷
escalate verb 逐步上升
sag verb 下降
bleakest adj. 嚴峻的;荒涼的;單調的
inherit verb 繼承
predecessors noun 前任
articulate verb 清晰說明
appraisal noun 評價
vested ph 歸屬
usher verb 引;領
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