Yahoo! board chairman steps down

The Yahoo sign in Times Square is seen in this 18 January, 2006 file photo in New York. Picture: AFP/Don Emmert/FILES Source: AFP

YAHOO! on Thursday announced that the chairman of the board was stepping down as freshly-minted chief Marissa Mayer forges ahead with an effort to revive the struggling Internet pioneer.

Fred Amoroso will not seek reelection to the board of directors at the upcoming 2013 annual meeting of shareholders, Yahoo! said in a release.

Maynard Webb Jr. was appointed to take over as chairman of the board, with Amoroso serving as a member until the shareholder meeting on June 25.

"Fred has been a wonderful chairman for Yahoo! over the past year, and I'm personally grateful for his trust and guidance as I took on the role as Yahoo! CEO," said Yahoo! chief executive Mayer.

"Fred's mentorship and perspective has proved truly valuable to me in my first few months here at Yahoo!."

Mayer took over the helm of Yahoo! in July of last year. Mayer had been a high-ranking executive at Google, which she joined in 1999 as its 20th employee and the first female engineer hired.

Yahoo! has been trying to reinvent itself as a "premier digital media" company since the Internet search service found itself withering in Google's shadow.

At the time of Mayer's hiring, Amoroso touted her as the ideal person for the job of Yahoo! chief.

Amoroso said that he told the board from the outset that he only intended to serve as chairman for a year.

"I'm very grateful and proud of the progress Yahoo! has made over the past year," Amoroso said in a release on Thursday.

"With Marissa at the helm and the leadership team in place, this is a natural time for me to transition off the board, consistent with what I said a year ago."

After Amoroso leaves, the Yahoo! board will have 10 members.

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Leighton appoints new chairman

LEIGHTON Holdings has appointed Bob Humphris as the construction giant's new chairman.

Mr Humphris says the board "totally" supports Leighton chief executive Hamish Tyrwhitt and his management team and was committed to the company's strategic objectives.

Leighton said today Paula Dwyer was appointed deputy chairman. The board appointments come after Leighton announced on Friday Stephen Johns has stepped down as chairman and left the company.

Directors Wayne Osborn and Ian Macfarlane, a former Reserve Bank of Australia governor, had also tendered their resignations following a breakdown in relations with German construction company Hochtief, which owns a 40 per cent stake in Leighton.

"Their view is that Hochtief no longer supports an independent board at Leighton," the company said on Friday.

Hochtief, which is majority owned by Spanish Group ACS, has two representatives on what was the company's 10-person board. In a letter to Leighton, Hochtief Australia said it was disappointed by the resignations.

"We do not consider Hochtief has done anything to undermine the independence of the Leighton board or threatened any such action," Hochtief said in the letter dated March 23. "For several decades, Leighton and Hochtief have chosen to follow a set of informal and non-binding governance principles which include a board and a management structure in which the majority of directors are non Hochtief-associated directors."

"Hochtief has at no time given the Leighton independent directors any cause to believe that it intends to depart from these principles."

Mr Humphris said Hochtief letter confirmed the current governance arrangements relating to Leighton's independence.

"The board are committed to Leighton's strategic objectives and totally support the CEO, Mr Hamish Tyrwhitt, and his management team," Mr Humphris said.

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