Vish Makhijani

Yahoo Reorg Will Be Announced Thursday

Kara Swisher in News on June 25, 2008 at 10:22 pm PT

As expected, Yahoo will announce its reorg tomorrow morning, along the same lines as BoomTown outlined in detail last week. The only issue that arose was over the appointment of Ash Patel to head the new Global Products group. His appointment was greeted with internal dissent, but Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang was said to have insisted that Patel remain on as planned. Last week, I outlined the sweeping internal changes at Yahoo, which will again dramatically change the structure of management.

There Can Be Only Two (Maybe Three)!

Kara Swisher in News on June 20, 2008 at 6:03 am PT

Oh, Scott! Oh, Tapan! Want an extra office? Perhaps a giant sword? Of the four powerful direct reports to former Yahoo Network division head Jeff Weiner–Front Door and Network Services’ Tapan Bhat, Brad Garlinghouse, who heads Yahoo’s communications and communities arenas, Media Group head Scott Moore and Yahoo Search’s Vish Makhijani–it seems only two are sticking around for now in the current state of extreme flux at Yahoo. That would be Moore and Bhat, who are being quiet–very quiet–as the new reorg chugs into place next week.

Is Yahoo's Peanut Butter Man Toast?

Kara Swisher in News on June 19, 2008 at 4:14 pm PT

Oh, BoomTown had to say it, didn’t I? But, as SVP Brad Garlinghouse’s fate is still uncertain at Yahoo, his edge-of-your-seat situation is the latest wrenching dramatic shift at a company that can’t seem to stop producing them. While reports say he has quit, Garlinghouse actually has not done that yet and will not likely make a definitive move to leave for a week, unlike fellow Yahoo SVPs Qi Lu and Vish Makhijani, who have tendered their resignations this week.

Qi Lu Departure a "Blow" to Yahoo; Makhijani Out Too, Garlinghouse Not Quite Yet

Kara Swisher in News on June 19, 2008 at 1:49 pm PT

As BoomTown reported earlier today, well-regarded top Yahoo techie Qi Lu will be leaving, in a move to be announced today or tomorrow by the troubled Internet company. One Yahoo insider, who characterized Lu as a “rock star” and highly regarded, said the departure was a “blow” that will be devastating to the engineering organization at Yahoo. It also looks as though the departure of Search SVP Vish Makhijani will also be announced today or tomorrow, although the fate of Brad Garlinghouse, the SVP who heads communications and communities, is still undetermined but precarious.

Who's Next to Go at Yahoo as Reorg Looms?

Kara Swisher in News on June 19, 2008 at 2:52 am PT

My special BoomTown Yahoo tip inbox is filling up fast this week from Yahoo employees–who, by the way, seem to like to use Gmail as their secret one–all buzzing about the next shoe to drop. That clodhopper would be, of course, which major exec will leave the troubled Internet company, all due to a major reorg that is about the hit the company within the next weeks. After the recent departure of Network division EVP Jeff Weiner and Chief Data Officer Usama Fayyad–along with the flashier exit of Flickr’s Co-Founders Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake–several sources tell BoomTown that Search and Advertising Technology group EVP Qi Lu is the next on his way out too.

Weiner Will Leave Yahoo, but Might Not Be Replaced

Kara Swisher in News on June 12, 2008 at 8:07 am PT

Jeff Weiner, as BoomTown reported in a story broken by BoomTown Tuesday and also yesterday, will be leaving Yahoo to become an entrepreneur in residence at both Accel Partners and Greylock Partners. But, despite a lot of speculation, sources at the company said that Weiner will not likely be replaced as Network division head by one of his four direct reports. Instead, sources at the company think much of Weiner’s organization could be headed by Hilary Schneider, who is EVP Global Partner Solutions, in order to better align Yahoo’s ad revenue-producing units with its products, software, search and services side.

Yahoo Execs Under Stress–Whither Weiner?

Kara Swisher in News on June 10, 2008 at 6:26 pm PT

Yahoo’s board has been meeting today and, doubtlessly, its directors had a lot to talk about (more on that later!). Of course, there’s the obvious topic of having to figure out how best to deal with the noisy stylings of billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who is waging a proxy war on Yahoo and calling for new management at the top. But perhaps what the board should be focused on is the old management at Yahoo, especially in the levels just below the top, who have been operating the company under a lot of stress for far too long.

The Mystery of the Canceled Yahoo Dinner Solved! Or Is It?

Kara Swisher in News on June 6, 2008 at 7:16 am PT

Recently, BoomTown, along with a passel of press, was invited to an outreach dinner, set to be held on June 9 at a San Francisco venue, with some top Yahoo execs. This was somewhat of a big deal, given the typically cave-dwelling mentality of the company in recent days, due to the drama of the Microsoft takeover bid that has jacked Yahoo’s typically skittish approach to press relations up to dangerously shy levels. Then the dinner was canceled last week suddenly, with organizers blaming scheduling issues. That move set tongues wagging at Yahoo’s Sunnyvale HQ, of course, and sources inside the company began to pepper BoomTown with two key theories.