Yahoo cuts ties with Jerry Yang

Yahoo co-founder and former chief executive Jerry Yang has resigned from his position on the company's board of directors, along with other managerial titles held with Yahoo Japan and Alibaba Holdings.

"My time at Yahoo, from its founding to the present, has encompassed some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life," said Yang.

"However, the time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo. As I leave the company I co-founded nearly 17 years ago, I am enthusiastic about the appointment of Scott Thompson as chief executive officer and his ability, along with the entire Yahoo leadership team, to guide Yahoo into an exciting and successful future."

Yang helped to co-found the company with David Filo in 1995. While Yahoo was among the most successful firms to emerge from the 1990s dot-com boom, the company saw its place in the search market dwindle amid renewed competition from Google.

With the company struggling to reinvent itself, Yang was brought back to Yahoo in 2007 as chief executive. His brief tenure as the company chief included a disastrous set of negotiations with Microsoft on a possible acquisition.

With the Microsoft talks broken down and the company's stock price at an all-time low, Yang was pushed to resign from the chief executive role, to be replaced by Carol Bartz.

Yahoo recently replaced Bartz with former PayPal executive Scott Thompson.

"I am grateful for the warm welcome and support Jerry provided me during my early days here," Thompson said.

"Jerry leaves behind a legacy of innovation and customer focus for this iconic brand, having shaped our culture by fostering a spirit of innovation that began 17 years ago and continues to grow even stronger today."