Yahoo's Ex-COO: "I Was Fired and That's OK"

PARIS – Henrique de Castro just spoke publicly for the first time since being ousted as Yahoo's COO. And he took the high road.

I was fired and that's OK. Being fired is part of your career options."

Much has been written about de Castro's exit. When Marissa Mayer took the head of Yahoo in 2012, she brought de Castro along from Google. Not because they were both Google alums but because Google dominated ad sales and it was logical to look there, de Castro said. But his hiring was controversial: his compensation put him among the highest paid men in corporate America and set equally high expectations for him to turn around Yahoo's troubled advertising business.
De Castro was let go after a little over a year on the job, with ad sales as dreadful as ever. Wild figures circulated about his generous severance: it turned out to be nearly $58 million, including $16 million in performance bonuses that, were I a shareholder, I'd have a hard time to swallow. (De Castro refused to confirm figures – he's under quite the stringent NDA, host Loïc Le Meur warned – but said his kind of pay is "normal:" "These are jobs that pay well because there's a high risk." By this token, nuclear plant workers and firefighters should be billionaires.)
"To be the COO of a non-growing business is a difficult position," de Castro explained. "With hindsight, I don't think a COO was needed."

If you're a company that needs very fast movement, you probably don't need an aggregation of functions under a COO. You need the CEO to have his or her hands in everything."

That's a polite way to refer to rumors that Mayer and he simply did not get along. But he does laud her work. "Search, mobile, video and media are not today what they'll be in the future," he said. "Marissa and the rest of the managing team have done a great job positioning the company to capture these future trends." He compares Yahoo's current situation with Apple in 1998: everyone was leaving and calling time of death on the company, when it was in fact readying to take over the world.
"Now, he says, the question is, will they catch the trends on time?"

Comments

Mr John Kerry arrives Lagos to hold talks with President Jonathan, Buhari. On elections

The U.S. Secretary of State with President Goodluck Jonathan: The U.S. Secretary of State with General Buhari:

5 fabulous ways to tie headwrap (Gele)

What is a "Gele"? "Gele" is a Yoruba {Nigeria, West Africa} word for a female Headwraps usually worn at occasions such as weddings. ...the inseparable fashion accessory of the African woman.. The "Back to Front" Style: 1. Fold the material depending on its width to make sure if covers the entire hair {how much you fold this material depends on its width} 2. Stand in front of a mirror or a friendly guide 3. Hold the material with the folded part away from your face. 4. Place the material over your hair/head. 5. Adjust the material so its middle is at the base of your neck. In doing so you will have two ends of material. Holding your head up, look straight ahead, grab the right end of the material midway to the end with your right hand and hold on to while grabbing the left end of the material with your left hand. 6. Hold the ends close together with your thumbs, allowing the rest of your fingers to be free. ...

Download: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

UPDATED The Company of Thorin has reached Smaug’s lair; but can Bilbo and the Dwarves reclaim Erebor and the treasure? And, if so, can they hold on to it? Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town. Obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard it as Bilbo’s frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf, the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain. As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide – unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds h...

JUST DIBS

Search This Blog