Did Yahoo! (YHOO) 'F' Bartz Over? She Thinks So...
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Yahoo!'s (Nasdaq: YHOO) former CEO Carol Bartz has nothing but the best of feelings for its Board and other executives.
"They f$&@ed me over."
Well, maybe she means the ancient Latin form of that word, which means: "to love."
But despite all this lovin' going around at Yahoo!, one set of people who appreciate the move are shareholders. Yahoo! stock was up about 5.5 percent during Wednesday's session.
Back to Bartz though. CNN obtained an exclusive interview with the beleaguered Chief, who phoned in from her California home late Wednesday. She said she called up Chairman Roy Bostock, who then began to read a lawyer-prepared script. She said, "Why don't you have the [insert your best guess here] to tell me yourself?" She was given an ultimatum to either resign or get fired, and she chose the latter.
Later that day, Bartz wrote a letter to Yahoo!'s 14,000 employees, which you've probably seen already, but here it is again:
"To all,
I am very sad to tell you that I've just been fired over the phone by Yahoo's Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.
Carol"
Bartz came to Yahoo! in 2009 after a successful term at Autodesk (Nasdaq: ADSK). At Yahoo!, she cut costs and improved margins, but failed to deliver on revenue growth, which the Board wanted. Bartz said the Board was even told revenue growth wouldn't occur until 2012, which is now only a few months off.
Most are attributing the firing in relation to Yahoo!'s deal with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), which allows Yahoo! to unload some search costs in exchange for a 12 percent share of search revs. The deal, done two years ago, limited growth, but was a smart long-term opportunity, Bartz contends.
Either way, she's gone as CEO, but still remains lead independent director, a position she's unlikely to keep after calling Board members "doofuses."
On Tim Morse, Yahoo!'s CFO who is currently serving as interim CEO, Bartz thinks hes a "great guy."
"They f$&@ed me over."
Well, maybe she means the ancient Latin form of that word, which means: "to love."
But despite all this lovin' going around at Yahoo!, one set of people who appreciate the move are shareholders. Yahoo! stock was up about 5.5 percent during Wednesday's session.
Back to Bartz though. CNN obtained an exclusive interview with the beleaguered Chief, who phoned in from her California home late Wednesday. She said she called up Chairman Roy Bostock, who then began to read a lawyer-prepared script. She said, "Why don't you have the [insert your best guess here] to tell me yourself?" She was given an ultimatum to either resign or get fired, and she chose the latter.
Later that day, Bartz wrote a letter to Yahoo!'s 14,000 employees, which you've probably seen already, but here it is again:
"To all,
I am very sad to tell you that I've just been fired over the phone by Yahoo's Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.
Carol"
Bartz came to Yahoo! in 2009 after a successful term at Autodesk (Nasdaq: ADSK). At Yahoo!, she cut costs and improved margins, but failed to deliver on revenue growth, which the Board wanted. Bartz said the Board was even told revenue growth wouldn't occur until 2012, which is now only a few months off.
Most are attributing the firing in relation to Yahoo!'s deal with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), which allows Yahoo! to unload some search costs in exchange for a 12 percent share of search revs. The deal, done two years ago, limited growth, but was a smart long-term opportunity, Bartz contends.
Either way, she's gone as CEO, but still remains lead independent director, a position she's unlikely to keep after calling Board members "doofuses."
On Tim Morse, Yahoo!'s CFO who is currently serving as interim CEO, Bartz thinks hes a "great guy."
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