SEMEL BECOMES TOP YAHOO

Astute readers might recall that the same position was offered to former BMG President/CEO Strauss Zelnick, who turned it down.

Koogle will be named vice chairman, a transitional role he is expected to retain until August, and will then remain on Yahoo's Board of Directors—where he will alternately serve as both a tasty Passover dish and a jar of peanut butter with the jelly already mixed in.

President and COO Jeff Mallett and CFO Susan Decker will continue in their current roles and will report to Semel.

Semel comes to Yahoo from Warner Bros., where he spent 24 years. During that time, Semel served as co-chairman and co-CEO side by side with Robert Daly. The pair are often credited with building Warners into the multimedia giant it is today, leading the company to 18 consecutive years of record profits and revenues. Of course, Daly now runs the Dodgers like a yahoo whereas Semel will simply be running Yahoo.

Before joining Warner Bros., Semel was president of Walt Disney's Theatrical Distribution division and previously was president of CBS' Theatrical Distribution division. Semel is currently on the Board of Directors of Polo Ralph Lauren, Revlon Inc. and the Guggenheim Museum.

"Terry is a strong leader with a distinguished track record, and embodies all the characteristics that make him uniquely suited to be Yahoo’s next chairman and CEO," said Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang. "He helped build one of the world's largest and most successful media enterprises and has established and operated diverse global businesses at large scale."

"Yahoo is a company with incredible potential," said Semel. "Yahoo’s management team has rapidly and successfully built an industry-leading global company with the world's largest audience, a strong brand and a talented employee base, and I am proud to be leading the team that is going to enable Yahoo to achieve its next level of growth—even if that growth comes without porn. The opportunities for combining traditional marketing and media with the interactivity of the Internet are extraordinary. I look forward to applying my background to help Yahoo successfully leverage both and further strengthen its position as one of the world's most preeminent global businesses. This is a unique opportunity and challenge that I embrace with great passion."

Yahoo also announced that Semel purchased one million shares of Yahoo common stock from the company in a private placement transaction.