Report: Yahoo chief product officer resigns
updated 11:40 pm EDT, Thu April 5, 2012
Latest executive shakeup
Yahoo's chief product officer, Blake Irving, has reportedly submitted his resignation. Although the company has yet to make a formal announcement, the departure is said to have been previously planned ahead of the layoff announcement that was made earlier this week.
Co-founder and former CEO Jerry Yang left the company early this year, fueling speculation of further shakeup within the leadership team. Partial confirmation arrived when chairman Roy Bostock announced that he would be one of four board members that will not seek re-election this year.
The company is also said to be ready to announce a restructuring plan that will essentially eliminate the division that Irving was responsible for directing. A large portion of the thousands of eliminated positions were also taken from his group.
Irving was reportedly one of the executives who disagreed with current CEO Scott Thompson's restructuring strategy, specifically criticizing the large layoffs without a clear plan, unnamed sources told All Things D. Thompson has publicly defended the move as necessary to focus on a "core purpose" and bring a cash savings estimated at $375 million.
Despite the leaks and promise of a new direction, the company is not expected to formally announce additional details until it reports its quarterly financials later this month.
