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Yahoo director in charge of Scott Thompson hire to step down from board

Yahoo director in charge of Scott Thompson hire to step down from board

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After revelations that Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson had lied about his educational background, the chairperson of the search committee in charge of Thompson's hire has decided to not seek re-election to Yahoo's board.

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May has been a particularly rocky month for Yahoo since it came to light that CEO Scott Thompson was misrepresenting his educational background, falsely claiming to hold a computer science degree from Stonehill College. Things have taken another turn, with one of the board members in charge of the search team that brought Thompson to Yahoo announcing that she will not be seeking re-election to the board. According to the company, Patti Hart — who served as the chairperson of the CEO search team — made the decision at the behest of International Game Technology Inc., where she serves as the CEO. There's no direct connection made between the Thompson revelations and Hart's move, but the timing is certainly interesting. The company has already announced it will be looking into the Thompson matter and making a disclosure to shareholders at a later date.

As we reported last week, Hart herself was also found to have spruced up her collegiate bona fides, representing that she had earned a degree in economics and marketing from Illinois State College, when in fact she studied business administration. Yahoo will be moving forward with just nine board members for the time being. "We thank Patti for her years of service," the Yahoo board said in a statement, "and wish her all the best."