After Yahoo stakeholders at activist hedge fund Third Point called out Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson for a padded resume last week, Thompson has taken to pleading ignorance in the matter. His latest defense claims he never actually submitted a resume for the gig or faked a degree. Actually, he has no idea how that extra Computer Science degree got on there.
According to the New York Times, executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles lead the search for Yahoo's top exec late last year. Thompson, meanwhile, reached out directly to Yahoo's board about the position and never sent in a list of his credentials. Either way, the nonexistent degree was listed on his corporate bio at PayPal well before he interviewed with Yahoo, so he'll still have to explain that one. For what it's worth, a slew of other regulatory filings for companies Thompson works with, or worked with in the past don't mention the made-up degree at all.
Still, the NYT is calling this a "firestorm" of a controversy. Which: No. This is not a firestorm. This is a guy who is seemingly qualified for his job getting grilled by an investor who wants to seat his pals on the Board of Directors of a company he has a sizable stake in. Not to mention, a lot of Silicon Valley types feeling like they're the center of the universe. But we digress...
Back in the land of Valley insiders, former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz took the opportunity to allow her famous potty mouth to weigh in on the matter, reportedly telling someone who actually cared to listen to her: "By the way, I DO have a Computer Science Degree." While that sentence would have been so much more satisfying with two to three more F-bombs in it, at least one Yahoo exec is feeling the spark of Bartz move within him, telling Business Insider, "We are so pissed off inside. I am a foot and a half out the door. I thought I'd never say this I want Bartz back. At least she was a real CEO. This guy is so under-qualified."
Previously: Yahoo CEO Fudged His Resume, Calls Made Up Degree An "Error"
[Dealbook NYT]
[BusinessInsider]
