February 26th, 2009

Yahoo CFO Jorgensen resigns

Posted by Sam Diaz @ 9:22 am

Categories: General, Yahoo

Tags: Yahoo! Inc., Conference, CFO, Company, Search, Sam Diaz

Yahoo CFO Blake Jorgensen, who addressed analysts at the Goldman Sachs Technology Conference in San Francisco yesterday, has resigned from the company. In a very brief SEC filing, the company wrote:

On February 26, 2009, Yahoo! Inc. (the “Company”) announced that Blake Jorgensen, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, will be leaving the Company. The Company has initiated a search for a new Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Jorgensen will remain with the Company as its Chief Financial Officer through a transition period.

He was pretty much a Yahoo cheerleader during the Goldman Sachs event, speaking freely about the company’s transition period with new CEO Carol Bartz on-board, as well as the company’s approach to partnering with someone - presumably Microsoft - with its search business.

Maybe he said something he shouldn’t have said at the conference. Maybe Bartz didn’t care for what he said about her. Maybe this is all part of her big reorganization plan, which was supposed to be announced this week. Maybe he just got another sweet job offer after calling it a day at the conference yesterday. The filing didn’t have those sort of details.

Update: A Barclays analyst shot off a quick note this morning, criticizing Yahoo for having Jorgensen represent the company at yesterday’s conference when he was already on his way out the door, according to a post on paidcontent. Analyst Dough Anmuth writes:  “We think some investors viewed him as potentially providing some stability to the management team”  but adds that he isn’t surprised as much as he is “increasingly concerned about Yahoo!‘s thinning management ranks & about who internally will help guide new CEO Bartz as she moves deeper into the Internet space & soon makes critical strategic decisions for the company.”

Update: Bartz announces new management structure at Yahoo but offers no details