SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Yahoo Inc. said Tuesday that Jerry Yang, the company’s co-founder and former chief executive, has resigned from its board of directors.
Shares of Yahoo rose more than three percent in after-hours trading, after the company announced Yang’s resignation.
In a statement, Yang said he had also stepped down as a board member at Yahoo Japan and Alibaba Group.
“My time at Yahoo, from its founding to the present, has encompassed some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life,” Yang said. “However, the time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo.”
Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock praised Yang as a “visionary and a pioneer.” Yang, with co-founder David Filo, created one of the dot-com era’s pioneering companies. Yahoo is now known as one of the world’s most popular web portals.
But the company has struggled with the rise of internet rivals led by Google Inc. More recently, Yahoo has reeled from a period of uncertainty, highlighted by the sudden firing of former CEO Carol Bartz.
The company recently hired Scott Thompson as its new CEO.
Yang remains the company’s seventh largest shareholder with 46.6 million shares worth about $721.5 million, according to data from FactSet Research.
Filo is Yahoo’s second largest shareholder with 72.5 million shares worth $1.1 billion.
Last year, Yahoo was accused of mishandling a dispute with Alibaba over the transfer ownership of Alipay, the Chinese company’s online payments business, to an entity controlled by Alibaba CEO Jack Ma.
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