Now Bostock is departing after four years as chairman. Many shareholders still accuse him and Yang of squandering an opportunity to sell Yahoo to Microsoft Corp. in May 2008 for $47.5 billion, or $33 per share. Yahoo's stock hasn't traded above $20 in nearly 31/2 years. Shares closed Tuesday at $15.82, up a penny.
In extended trading after the announcement, the stock fell to $15.79.
In a move that will give Thompson an even cleaner slate as he tries to come up with a new strategy, Yahoo board members Vyomesh Joshi, Arthur Kern, and Gary Wilson also agreed not to seek reelection at Yahoo's shareholders' meeting this June.
Kern, a former radio-station owner, has been on Yahoo's board for more than 15 years. Wilson, a former airline executive, had been a director since 2001, and Joshi, a former Hewlett-Packard Co. executive, had been a director since 2005.
With the housecleaning, all of Yahoo's directors will have been on the board for two years or less.
Bringing in new directors to work with Thompson will "provide Yahoo with the expertise and perspectives necessary to drive innovation and growth," Bostock wrote in a letter announcing his plans Tuesday.
Along with the mass exodus, Yahoo announced the appointment of two new directors: Alfred Amoroso, former CEO of Rovi Corp., and Maynard Webb Jr., a former eBay Inc. executive who most recently was CEO of LiveOps Inc.
Yahoo, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., said it was conducting a search for additional directors.
In his letter, Bostock wrote that the board shake-up would provide a "fresh set of perspectives" and allow Thompson and the company to move forward. He added, "It has always been a privilege for me to serve as chairman of Yahoo."
This article contains information from the New York Times News Service.
