Yahoo President Decker: First Bold Move
How is recently appointed Yahoo president Susan Decker faring in her first days at the Yahoo helm? Decker has made one smart move, for herself, if not for Yahoo: She “declined” to be interviewed for aNew York Times profile running today, “Can She Turn Yahoo Into, Well, Google?”
No fear, writer Miguel Helft assures “several people who know her well and have worked with her say that whatever she lacks in operating experience, she makes up for in intelligence and analytical skills.”
Why WOULD Decker risk spoiling her NYT welcome to the the Yahoo presidency Valentine? Helft has gathered an array of personalities that vouch for Decker, big time.
First up, Warren Buffet on Decker: “A plus, home run, 100 percent, many fans in coporate boardrooms.” Buffet tapped Decker to serve on the board of his Berkshire Hathaway.
Who else has “praised” Decker for her “smarts and acumen”? Steve Jobs, according to Helft, and Hamilton James, president, Blackstone Group.
James, on Decker: “She combines the attibutes of being a nice person and beong able to make a tough decision. She’s one of the few people around who can successfully manage a group of people who are creative, highly paid, have big egos and have an artists’ colony temperament.”
Yahoo colleague Jeff Weiner, on Decker: “Each answer I provided her led to deeper questions. You could see her mind at work.”
Helft even succeeds in getting a Google exec to sing Decker’s praises, although their relationship is not quite arms length. Decker has “bonded” with Google’s Sheryl Sandberg, in light of Sandberg husband David Goldberg’s role at Yahoo Music.
Helft dutifully sprinkles in a few hesitancies about Decker’s ability to make things right at Yahoo.
Scott Kessler, Standard & Poor’s, on Decker’s decision making track record at Yahoo: “At the end of the day, Sue had some role to play in a lot of the decisions and a lot of the mistakes made.”
Nevertheless, Helft concludes with a happy progonosis for Decker: Whatever happens, “She’ll still probably have some fans in high places,” i.e. Warren Buffet.
Missing from Helft’s piece? A Decker testimonial on how she handles peanut butter.