THE APPOINTMENT: Yahoo Inc. named Scott Thompson, the head of eBay’s PayPal, as its fourth CEO in less than five years, effective next Monday.
QUESTIONS RAISED: Thompson, 54, has no experience in online content and advertising, Yahoo’s chief sources of revenue. The timing also came as a surprise, given that Yahoo’s board has been considering a sale of all or part of the company.
THE MESSAGE: With Thompson’s selection, Yahoo’s board is signaling that it believes the company can still rebound, despite several years of losing ground to Google and Facebook in product innovation and online advertising.