Firings happen all the time. And usually they’re packaged in such a way that it can be soft pedaled. Such as “John Smith has left the company to spend more time with his family” or words to that effect.
That’s apparently not how it works at Yahoo. Marissa Mayer apparently fired COO Henrique de Castro. And she didn’t mince words based on a leaked e-mail that was sent to Yahoo staff. Here’s a snippet of it:
During my own reflection, I made the difficult decision that our COO, Henrique de Castro, should leave the company. I appreciate Henrique’s contributions and wish him the best in his future endeavors.
To recap, she decided that de Castro “should leave the company.” That’s pretty blunt. She might as well have said “I fired his sorry ass and I liked it.” Highly unusual if you ask me.
So the next question is, why was he fired? This article provides some insight:
Perhaps most problematic: In recent months, according to numerous sources, he and Mayer had developed a tense relationship that many in meetings with the pair found it hard not to notice. “They just did not get along and did not hide it at all,” said one person in several meetings. “It was really awkward.”
He had also been fighting for power with the new sales head Ned Brody, M&A head Jackie Reses and marketing head Kathy Savitt. In other words, everyone inside the Mayer inner circle.
In fact, Brody, a former AOL exec, had rolled his eyes to many who asked about De Castro’s absence at CES and his status. Savitt had been seeking control of Yahoo’s media unit, which had been under him. And Reses had long since grabbed Yahoo’s business development unit, another former De Castro charge.
In other words, “Boardwalk Empire,” but without the cool clothes and snappy banter.
Besides these interpersonal issues, perhaps most critical was that De Castro was unable to move the advertising business, which has continued to lag as Mayer’s two-year anniversary nears.
Not getting along with your boss and their inner circle is a great way to shorten your lifespan within a company. But don’t feel too sorry for de Castro. Word on the street is that he’ll take home a very big cheque.
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This entry was posted on January 16, 2014 at 11:24 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Yahoo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Yahoo CEO Fires COO In The Most Public Way Possible
Firings happen all the time. And usually they’re packaged in such a way that it can be soft pedaled. Such as “John Smith has left the company to spend more time with his family” or words to that effect.
That’s apparently not how it works at Yahoo. Marissa Mayer apparently fired COO Henrique de Castro. And she didn’t mince words based on a leaked e-mail that was sent to Yahoo staff. Here’s a snippet of it:
During my own reflection, I made the difficult decision that our COO, Henrique de Castro, should leave the company. I appreciate Henrique’s contributions and wish him the best in his future endeavors.
To recap, she decided that de Castro “should leave the company.” That’s pretty blunt. She might as well have said “I fired his sorry ass and I liked it.” Highly unusual if you ask me.
So the next question is, why was he fired? This article provides some insight:
Perhaps most problematic: In recent months, according to numerous sources, he and Mayer had developed a tense relationship that many in meetings with the pair found it hard not to notice. “They just did not get along and did not hide it at all,” said one person in several meetings. “It was really awkward.”
He had also been fighting for power with the new sales head Ned Brody, M&A head Jackie Reses and marketing head Kathy Savitt. In other words, everyone inside the Mayer inner circle.
In fact, Brody, a former AOL exec, had rolled his eyes to many who asked about De Castro’s absence at CES and his status. Savitt had been seeking control of Yahoo’s media unit, which had been under him. And Reses had long since grabbed Yahoo’s business development unit, another former De Castro charge.
In other words, “Boardwalk Empire,” but without the cool clothes and snappy banter.
Besides these interpersonal issues, perhaps most critical was that De Castro was unable to move the advertising business, which has continued to lag as Mayer’s two-year anniversary nears.
Not getting along with your boss and their inner circle is a great way to shorten your lifespan within a company. But don’t feel too sorry for de Castro. Word on the street is that he’ll take home a very big cheque.
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This entry was posted on January 16, 2014 at 11:24 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Yahoo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.