Jerry Yang has resigned from Yahoo's board of directors and all other positions with the company, the besieged internet portal said on Tuesday.
The move comes two weeks after the company announced that former PayPal chief Scott Thompson would take over as chief executive officer with the task of refocusing the company on its media and advertising assets.
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Yang, company co-founder and former CEO who resisted Microsoft's takeover attempt several years ago, became Chief Yahoo! when Carol Bartz took over the top spot in January 2009. Her profane outbursts and failure to bolster the internet giant's sagging share price led to her ouster last September.
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In a letter to the Yahoo Board Chairman Roy Bostock, Yang wrote:
"My time at Yahoo!, from its founding to the present, has encompassed some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life. However, the time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo! As I leave the company I co-founded nearly 17 years ago, I am enthusiastic about the appointment of Scott Thompson as Chief Executive Officer and his ability, along with the entire Yahoo! leadership team, to guide Yahoo! into an exciting and successful future."
Yang co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in 1995 with David Filo and served as a member of the board of directors since March 1995.
Yahoo went public in 1996.
After outsourcing its search business to Yahoo, the company has tried to reposition itself as a content creator while simultaneously improving profit margins. As this often torturous transformation takes plays out in the public eye, the company has continued to lose market share to more nimble competitors such as Google and Facebook.
In addition to exiting the board, Yang resigned from the boards of Yahoo Japan Corporation and Alibaba Group Holding Limited, effective today.
Yahoo's stock fell .32 percent to $15.43 in after-hours trading.