Yahoo's Microsoft Bid Rejection Raises Larger Corporate Governance Questions

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang will be slammed in the media over the next coming weeks. In my opinion, the criticism will be well founded. It is very tough to make an argument that Mr. Yang is acting in the best interest of his shareholders in rejecting Microsoft’s buyout offer. Personally, I can’t wait to see how long it takes the share price to reach $33. Good luck, Mr. Yang.

The MSFT/YHOO situation triggers deeper questions as to corporate governance in America. More specifically, what can regulators of U.S. companies enact that will allow shareholders to actually become owners of the companies? Here are some of my thoughts:

1. If the boards of directors are to remain truly independent, how is it that the leaders of the boards can also run the companies?
2. How many CEOs or directors of public companies serve with each other on more than one company’s board?

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