Four months after firing Carol Bartz, Yahoo has appointed Scott Thompson as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective January 9, 2012. Thompson, who was previously President of Paypal has also been appointed to the Company's Board of Directors. Thompson inherits what appears to be one of the toughest jobs in the Internet industry - not that of running Yahoo, but of keeping its board and the press happy. Yahoo is viewed as a company on the decline, and from the conference call that Yahoo held, Thompson didn't appear to say much, except reiterate what Carol Bartz used to say - build a company that is both about technology and media, and focus on increasing user engagement. While it is too early to tell what Thompson plans to do, and indeed, it will be too early to tell during the companys next earnings call, due in a couple of weeks, he should know that unless there is perceptible change in the stock price and revenues going forward, the revolving door will revolve again. What we don't know is whether he has been brought in to dress the company up for a sale - Alibaba's Jack Ma has been fairly vocal about his intent to buy Yahoo and turn it around. Any specific plans should probably be known in a few months, especially after Thompson visits Yahoo offices across the globe, to get a sense of what is going on. India apparently has been at the forefront of experimentation, with products rolled out here…
