With Yahoo! Inc.'s (NASDAQ: YHOO) recent management shakeup, will any other big changes be coming soon? The bad taste left in the mouth of many investors over the lavish pay package given to former CEO Terry Semel while Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) was beating up his company and taking all its lunch money is not going away soon. Even more unsettling is the fact that company co-founder Jerry Yang stepped in as CEO over savvy and well-respected Sue Decker (who did ascend to the role of President). All those changes were needed, although it's way too early to see if the new team will be able to rescue Yahoo! from the deep shadow of Google.

Yahoo! EVP Jeff Weiner has been cited in unofficial circles as one of the main people responsible for the slow rollout of Yahoo!'s potential savior, Project Panama. Created specifically to take on Google's auction-style keyword ad placement, Project Panama was launched in semi-glorious fashion late last year but exact details on its performance have been a bit hard to find so far. How is it performing beyond of the platitudes from management we continue to hear? How is the platform contributing to Yahoo!'s bottom line more than the previous Overture keyword system? Inquiring minds need to know.

Project Panama needs to show powerful results in the new quarter or a few more Yahoo! folks could be shown the door. Although Yahoo! is not making ground against Google's search-based advertising leadership, the least Project Panama could do is take the search viewership Yahoo! does have and maximize revenue in a measurable way that shareholders can plainly see. If not, Semel will need to be the first of several pushed out.

After yesterday's no-surprise announcement that Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) CEO Terry Semel would resign his post and take the role of non-executive chairman, I was confused as to why Semel even wants to stay with Yahoo!

Semel already has gotten a huge payday, so it looks like he's sticking around so the board can save face, which is disgusting. Yet again, executives are rewarded while shareholders get stiffed. I'm glad I don't own Yahoo or I would have Semel's head on a platter.

Still, you have to wonder what in the world is going on in Sunnyvale. Company co-founder Jerry Yang is stepping in as CEO (for some odd reason) instead of seasoned executive Susan Decker, who is taking over as president, thankfully.

Yahoo! will never regain its former glory.

2001 was a long, long time ago. In the ever-evolving world of technology, six years can be measured in dog-years: one dog year equals seven human years. Terry Semel rode in to Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) as the savior, the professional manager who would move this absolutely cool company to the next level. The space was evolving and revolving in a huge way. Nobody could even put a bona-fide growth rate on the internet search/ marketing/advertising/communication field. Semel thought he had entered a marathon.

In 2001, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) was only three years old, as the company was founded in 1998. The secrecy surrounding Google was legendary, yet weird. Google was formidable, but it was also private. Numbers were never confirmed, but people in the know whispered Google was catching Yahoo and knocking it from its premier position. Google was gathering headlines and believers while Yahoo! was reporting good, not great, or consistent quarterly numbers. The technology media and its close-followers knew Google was catching Yahoo!, it was only a matter of time.

The world realized in 2004 that Google was also running a marathon, but with a sprinter's speed. Google completed its initial public offering in August 2004 and was crowned the winner: game, set and match. Immediately, the market propelled Google to a market capitalization that has surpassed Yahoo!'s. As of this writing, Yahoo! is a faint figure in Google's rear view mirror. Google is worth $160 billion while Yahoo! is a respectable $37 billion.

So ... Was CEO Terry Semel really so bad that he had to resign?

In a word, yes.

In my opinion, Terry Semel needed to be shown the door long ago and should have made a quiet, respectful and pride-saving exit from Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO). I'm not happy with the way his resignation is now being handled either. He should be moving down the road to new and exciting endeavors, leaving Yahoo! to formulate its own new plans. Instead, he has gingerly stayed in his chairman role, in a non-executive role, hanging around like the brother-in-law who just wrecked your car and says he'll help you fix it.

Don't take my word for it, though. A flood of commentary from all across the web includes such things as:

"...it's safe to say, (the share holders) are not happy at all with the current performance and are sending a message loud and clear, Terry Semel's got to turn things around" - RSS Micro

Late last year I applied for a job at Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO). It was a job that had my name written all over it. The company was looking for a person to help revamp its kids' portal, Yahooligans. It wanted someone with both editorial and web experience who also had insights into kids aged 7-14.

I applied. Besides being a long-time journalist for major media like the Los Angeles Times and BusinessWeek magazine, I had spent the last 10 years writing about kids for the likes of Parenting Magazine and American Baby. I'd worked for several years on different websites during the dot.com boom in San Francisco, including Babycenter.com, and felt I was web-savvy enough to contribute to a larger concern like Yahoo! As a special bonus, I also had two kids in that age group, and so had personal insights into what makes that particular demographic salivate. I could recite the Cartoon Network lineup like a pro, and opine about such ten-year-old interests as Ben Ten, Teen Titans, Yugi-Oh and every Pixar movie made in the last ten years.

Call me crazy, but I thought I was the perfect gal for the gig.

If I were Susan Decker, I'd be rollicked with mixed emotions. On one hand, the long-awaited exit of Terry Semel as Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) CEO gives Sue a lot of room to get on with her company's renovation. She's often been seen as Yahoo!'s strongest leader and most talented executive; Semel's resignation really makes the company hers in a way it never could be before. In December, her promotion to Executive Vice President, Head of Advertiser and Publisher Group made her the heir apparent. And she's been named President, surely a lovely title reminiscent of ultimate power.

But on the other hand, this is a corporation, and the real power is in the position of Chief Executive Officer -- the job we all know she should (if she has half the ambition she seems) truly desire. Not only that, but the rest of the world agrees she's the best candidate for the position. This perfect opportunity to give her the title for which her career has been grooming her? It's been passed over, and we all have to wonder: what were they thinking? and, will she ever be the bride? and, if you were her, wouldn't you be updating your profile on HotJobs about now?

Every deep discussion of the Semel resignation contains the same perplexed question. Various answers to the why not Sue? conundrum include "because she's not an outsider" and "I just don't know." Could it be because she doesn't have the coding geek background? Because she's a woman? Or is the board really (as many suggest, but I don't buy) just biding their time until ... something ... to name her CEO?

Come on. If Susan was going to be named CEO, now would be the time. Why put off any longer? If the board really was happy with her in the role, the job would be hers, effective immediately. Last time they reorganized the entire company to give her a new-and-improved title. This one, to me, says "you know honey, maybe you're just not CEO material." What do you think?

Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ; YHOO), which today replaced Terry Semel as chief executive with co-founder Jerry Yang, may be dragged into the battle royale for Dow Jones & Co. (NYSE: DJ).

Billionaire Ron Burkle, who the unions have enlisted to save them from the evil clutches of News Corp (NYSE:NWS) Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch, is trying to convinced the Internet giant to join him in a bid for the owner of the Wall Street Journal, according to Fortune.

Why the unions think the Burkle is a such a good guy is a little baffling. The supermarket mogul won't get many Christmas cards from shareholders since, as a member of Yahoo's compensation committee, he helped Semel get his outrageous $70 million pay package.

Yahoo should tell Burkle to take a hike. The company's whole strategy has been based on the fact that it DOESN'T NEED TO OWN CONTENT. Executives have made this point to me in person. They've made this point to other journalists. They've made this point to Wall Street analysts. Most importantly, though, Yahoo has made this point to content providers who are nervous about the small amount of original content that the company does produce.

Joining the bidding war for Dow Jones makes no sense for Yahoo. The company has plenty of problems of its own, including how to diplomatically shove Semel out of the door. The theory is that he can do less damage as chairman, until he's given the chance to make a graceful exit, while Jerry Yang gets his feet wet as chief executive.

Susan Decker, who gained kudos on Wall Street during her tenure as CFO, would have made a better choice. She has become president and it wouldn't surprise me if she eventually left the company as well.

Yang has a tough road ahead to convince both Internet users and investors enamored of Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) that Yahoo still is relevant.

Finally, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) has ditched its CEO Terry Semel, according to MarketWatch. And the new CEO is Jerry Yang, a co-founder of the company. Former CFO, Susan Decker was named president, positioning her for a chance to take over the top slot.

It is beyond me why Semel held onto his job for so long. He helped stabilize Yahoo after the dot-com crash but has stumbled from one incompetent quarter to the next for years. And he has taken home some truly outrageous pay -- a total of $452 million in salary, bonus and stock-option exercises since April 2001 [subscription] -- during which time Yahoo stock has risen four-fold.

However, in the last year the disconnect between Semel's pay and Yahoo's performance became too much to take. According to the New York Times, his total 2006 pay was $107.5 million during which time Yahoo's stock fell 35%. And directors concluded Yahoo was just not catching up fast enough with Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) so Semel had to go.

Susan Decker had been positioned to take over the company as CEO. But Yahoo's board probably decided that she was not yet ready. However, she is considered to have the inside track during the CEO search to replace Semel. So Yang's appointment could be just a temporary move that will help stabilize the company until she is ready.

Or, with the stock up 8% to $29.62 in after-hours trading, he might just sell it. It would make a nice morsel for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT).

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned in this post.

[See our live blog of the web cast in which Terry Semel discusses his resignation here.]

Okay, so we all know by now that Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) CEO Terry Semel has resigned. Co-founder Jerry Yang will become CEO and Sue Decker the President. The call has just started, please refresh.

4:50: Jerry Yang is speaking. Terry, Jerry and Sue will first discuss the management changes, then give a brief business update. Wonder what that would be.

Terry started talking. In his slow drawl he says how proud he was working at Yahoo! and with Sue and Jerry (sure, what else he would say!).

Now he explains why now. He wanted to leave sooner rather than later and this way he ensures a smooth transition.

Now he says how Yahoo! had a difficult and challenging year. Is it me, or does his voice wavered a little?

Speaking of Jerry, Terry says Jerry brings phenomenal skills (he has a hard time speaking, I think).

Now he says how Sue has deserved this promotion. Her financial skills.

Jerry and Sue will be an unbeatable team and it is the right time to do it.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is an internet company that has more visitors and users across its combined properties than any other company. Is it realizing all the revenue it can from all those customers? Not really. In fact, competitor Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is sucking Yahoo!'s well of customers dry each month using roughly one revenue avenue -- text-based search advertising. Yahoo! was late to realize that advertising was the place to be, rather than trying to get customers to pay for premium services and content that they can get elsewhere for free. Result? Yahoo! is scrambling to catch up to the mover and shaker in the industry -- and it ain't Yahoo!.

Yahoo!'s search for a new CFO ended last week. The catch, one with deep financial market ties, speaks volumes about potential Yahoo! strategy in the months and years to come. Blake Jorgensen's appointment means that Yahoo! may be looking to shed non-core assets or even set itself up to be sold. Yahoo!'s lingering rumor that it join with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has been vanquished (again), which leaves Yahoo! standing in the dark corner with a lit match while Google runs all over town with a bonfire on its back.

Yahoo! is losing some key employees as the "grass is greener" attitude continues to infiltrate the company. It's been speculated that 2007 may see the end of Terry Semel as Yahoo!'s CEO after some nice moves in 2002 and 2003 did not pay off as planned and Google's furtive moves caught the Yahoo! guard off-guard. The recovery has not panned out at all either and still remains murky. If Semel can somehow manage to get Yahoo! back in the prominent spotlight (and making more money based on all the customer relationships it has), he may be safe. It is not, however, happening to the degree YHOO shareholders are needing at this point.

There are increasing scores of investors, analysts, and market pundits who are calling for the ouster of current Yahoo! CEO Terry Semel over the distressing lack of vision and focus Yahoo! now has.

It wasn't always this way. Yahoo! was the brightest Internet company for quite some time and seemed to have the online world by the horns. That was until Google came along and started stealing just about every thunderbolt that could have belonged to Yahoo! and Google became (and still is) the Internet darling du jour.

With Yahoo! being seriously beat at the Internet search game and with very little hope to ever dethrone Google, and with the long delays of its new search advertising platform "Project Panama," Yahoo! is in a bind. The company is still one of the largest destinations for web traffic in the world but is not monetizing that traffic like the competition -- especially not like Google.

With Yahoo!'s CFO Susan Decker recently stating that "we would be very happy to maintain our market share," perhaps Yahoo!'s goal is not to try and beat Google at the Internet search game. But it better start monetizing more of its properties then, and soon (like: yesterday).

Just three weeks ago, Yahoo! announced it was reorganizing into three areas; advertising, audience, and technology. Decker will be heading the ad group beginning January 1. In addition, some top Yahoo! execs are leaving the company. This includes Chief Operating Officer Dan Rosensweig, and Lloyd Braun, who is the head of Yahoo's media and entertainment group. Can Decker turn this big ship around? Google is doing anything but sitting still, so Decker's got a hard role in front of her soon.

As Sarah Gilbert posted, Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) announced a reorganization yesterday. It's hard to tell whether it will help or hurt Yahoo's financial performance. With the stock up 0.44% in pre-market trading, the market sees it as a slight positive.

Yahoo has clearly lost advertising market share to Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). Google's share has risen to 45.4% in the United States in October from 39% a year earlier, while Yahoo's market share fell to 28.2% from 29.2%. It's also clear that Yahoo's stock has tumbled 30% this year while Google's has gained 17%.

What's murky to me is how this reorganization will help Yahoo reverse its loss in market share. But the departure of former ABC executive Lloyd Braun -- whose namesake was featured in Seinfeld as an aide to former New York City mayor David Dinkins who had a nervous breakdown -- ends Hollywood's efforts to colonize Silicon Valley's Yahoo. This also suggests that 64-year-old CEO Terry Semel's departure is imminent within the year.

A few weeks ago we were buzzing about a posting in which several Yahoo! insiders and outsiders were ranked with the probability they might succeed embattled CEO Terry Semel. The scuttlebutt amongst media insiders: Yahoo! is disorganized, without a unifying personality to lead the company, weak on strategy and thinly-staffed. First among the contenders to take over Terry's job and charge forth with a new mission was CFO Susan Decker.

It seems as if the "bookies" were right. Tonight Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) got a reorganization. In the press release, the company announces it has divided itself into three sections: the Audience Group, the Advertiser & Publisher Group, and the Technology Group. What's more, COO Dan Rosensweig is leaving the company in March (he was rumored to be a rival to Decker for the CEO spot). Decker will head the Advertiser & Publisher Group (i.e. where the money is), certainly a nod toward her potential to take over the "corner cube" from Semel.

Buzz started at 4 p.m. local time: there was an internal company-wide executive level webcast. Nothing says "someone is getting fired" like "internal company-wide executive-level webcast." At least not in a web company! The response so far: "no surprise," "no surprise" that Project Panama is being set as a priority for the new Technology group (and, from the same post, "If you can't sum up a unit in 30 words maybe it's not streamlined enough"), "where is Jeff Weiner, Yahoo!'s former golden boy?" and, from an insider, why not Britney Spears as CEO? [Or, at the very least, the head of the audience group, for which a search party has been launched.]