Scott Thompson (businessman)

Scott Thompson
Scott Thompson greets Yahoos at Sunnyvale HQ, in January 2012.
Born	Scott Thompson (1957-11-13) 13 November 1957 Taunton, Massachusetts
Nationality	United States
Alma mater	Stonehill College
Occupation	Business executive
Board member of	Vertica Systems Inc, Zuora Inc.

Scott Thompson (born November 13, 1957) is an American businessman, and currently CEO of ShopRunner.^[1] Previously, he was Chief Executive Officer of Yahoo!.

Early life and education

Thompson was born November 13, 1957 in Taunton, Massachusetts. He grew up in nearby Raynham, Massachusetts. He is an accounting major from Stonehill College, a private Catholic school in Easton, Massachusetts. Resumes during his Yahoo! tenure stated that Thompson was a graduate of Bowdoin College, a liberal arts school in Maine.^[2]

Work

ShopRunner

Thompson joined the online-shopping service ShopRunner as CEO in July 2012.^[3]

Yahoo!

In early April, 2012, Thompson announced and executed a plan to reduce Yahoo!'s 14,000 employees by 2,000, or 14% of the workforce^[4] Several executives left Yahoo! just before the layoffs started.^[5][6]

On March 14, 2012 Yahoo! filed a patent lawsuit against Facebook over 10 patents.^[7][8] Facebook responded by counter suing Yahoo!.^{[9][10][11][12]}

College degree controversy

Yahoo hired Thompson as CEO in January 2012.^[13] The controversy began on May 3, 2012, when activist investor Dan Loeb, CEO of Third Point LLC, sent a letter to Yahoo’s Board of Directors and made the contents of the letter public in a press release.^[14] The letter cites a Yahoo SEC filing stating that Thompson "holds a Bachelor's degree in accounting and computer science" from Stonehill College and that Loeb had reason to believe that the degree was "in accounting only". Loeb questioned if Thompson had "embellished his academic credentials" and questioned if the Board had "failed to exercise appropriate diligence and oversight in one of its most fundamental tasks – identifying and hiring the Chief Executive Officer." At one point in the letter, Loeb appears to suggest that Thompson was claiming to have earned a degree in computer science, a more serious charge than embellishing his B.S.B.A. with an unofficial or non-existent minor. However such charges were never proven and the source and timeline of the discrepancy is unknown.

At least one official Yahoo biography and the Yahoo SEC filings stated: "Mr. Thompson holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and computer science from Stonehill College". However, proxy statements filed with the SEC by eBay, Thompson's former employer, in 2008-2010 only noted an accounting degree.^[15] Yahoo! initially acknowledged the misstatement as "an inadvertent error",^[16] then subsequently began an investigation.^[17] Stonehill College responded to press inquiries by stating that Thompson was granted a B.S.B.A. degree in Accounting.

On May 13, 2012, Yahoo issued a press release stating that Thompson was no longer with the company, and would immediately be replaced on an interim basis by Ross Levinsohn, recently appointed head of Yahoo's new Media group.^[18][19][20] Thompson's total compensation for his 130-day tenure with Yahoo will be at least $7.3 million.^[21]

PayPal

Prior to Yahoo, he worked for EBay subsidiary PayPal as President^[22] and, before that, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, where he oversaw information technology, product development, and architecture. During his tenure at PayPal from 2005-2012, the business grew significantly and became a tangible component of its parent company's revenues.

Visa

Thompson has also worked as Executive Vice President of Technology Solutions for Inovant,^[22] a subsidiary of Visa that oversees the company's global technology. At Inovant, he was responsible for all development, support and maintenance of Visa's global payment system. He was also Chief Information Officer of Barclays Global Investors, ^[22] where he implemented a technology platform and global infrastructure, before being fired for alleged disagreements in strategic direction. In addition, he worked for Coopers and Lybrand, delivering information technology solutions to leading financial services clients such as Wells Fargo.

Awards

In 2011, Thompson received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for financial services for Northern California.^[23]

Cancer diagnosis

In 2012, Thompson was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which was said to be a reason for leaving Yahoo.^[24][25] By July 2012 he was given a clean bill of health.^[3]

References