How Marissa Mayer Failed to Turn the Company Around Variety. Marissa Mayer has sat behind the wheel at Yahoo for nearly four years. She has had the luxury of running one of the worlds most recognized internet brands, with a surging digital ad market, a cooperative board, a truckload of cash and 1 billion monthly visitors. And still she has failed to turn things around at the beleaguered company. Befuddlement is the best way I could characterize Marissa Mayers hire, says Brian Wieser, senior analyst at Pivotal Research Group, of the onetime Google wunderkinds arrival at Yahoo in July 2. Sure, you had someone who understood consumer use of digital media but no core experience with Yahoos business, which was generating ad revenue from Madison Avenue. Mayer, who will be 4. May 3. 0, now faces the prospect of the firm she was hired to save being sold off, and the possibility of being booted from her job. She has been largely protected from Wall Streets wrath by the surge in value from Yahoos Alibaba Group holdings although she had nothing to do with those gains. But as Yahoos finances have continued to deteriorate, it has become apparent that Mayer has wasted time and money with a lack of cohesive vision and a mercurial micromanagement style that paralyzed growth opportunities, according to former employees and industry execs. As one shareholder wonders What the f has Marissa Mayer been doing for the last three plus yearsWhen Yahoo hired Mayer, the company was in a position to become a real player in social media, and to blossom into a much bigger digital media property that could leverage increased revenue from its huge audience. Instead, Mayer spent 1 billion on blogging startup Tumblr, which three years later hasnt produced any meaningful revenue, while unilaterally abandoning an array of content initiatives. In turn, she has doubled down on search, which Yahoo is fueling with pricey paid traffic deals with two of its biggest rivals, 
Microsoft and Google. But prior to Mayer deciding it was critical to Yahoos future, web search hadnt been a strength since the companys earliest days. Watch Kidnap HIGH Quality Definitons'>Watch Kidnap HIGH Quality Definitons. Lets not be hyperbolic The use case was literally accidental searches on the homepage, says a former Yahoo exec. Mayers interest in beefing up search, according to this source, is because she has a real chip on her shoulder about getting thrown out of search at Google. Watch Becoming Warren Buffett Online IMDB' title='Watch Becoming Warren Buffett Online IMDB' />In 2. CEO Eric Schmidt from her position as Google VP of search products and user experience to a job overseeing local content, maps, and location services. The Yahoo way is, Well throw 1. But you need a sniper rifle in this business. Rich Tullo, analyst. Now Yahoo investors waiting for Mayers turnaround miracle to materialize have thrown up their hands. IhV2Xc2_Ao/hqdefault.jpg' alt='Watch Becoming Warren Buffett Online IMDB' title='Watch Becoming Warren Buffett Online IMDB' />Activistinvestor Starboard Value exasperated at the lack of progress on Mayers watch threatened to oust the CEO and the current board by nominating its own slate of directors. Watch April And The Extraordinary World Online Ibtimes here. Last month, Yahoo averted a potentially ugly proxy fight with the fund by appointing Starboard chief Jeffrey Smith and three Starboard backed directors to the board. The shakeup increases the likelihood of a Yahoo sale, given Starboards position on the issue. For now, 
Mayers job at the company appears safe, but all bets are off if the new board finds a buyer. In the event shes fired within a year of an acquisition, Mayer stands to receive a severance package worth about 5. Mayer, through a rep, declined a request for an interview. At this point, the task of trying to revive Yahoo will almost certainly fall to an acquirer or a new management team. Earlier this year, the companys board bowed to pressure to put itself on the block, and Yahoo is reviewing bids from parties including Verizon and several private equity firms, while billionaire Warren Buffett says hes willing to back a play for the company by his friend Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans. Verizon, which snapped up AOL for 4. Yahoo and AOL. A Wall Street Journal report last week said Verizon and other bidders planned to offer between 2 billion and 3 billion for Yahoo far less than the 8 billion or more the company has been expecting. So Mayers legacy at Yahoo may be as the CEO who drove it into a fire sale. Youd think Verizon would be interested in it just for their traffic, and fire everybody in a classic strategic acquirer move to take cost synergies out, says Brett Harriss, media and entertainment analyst at Gabelli Co. No one can accuse Mayer of standing still. Under her leadership, Yahoo has bought some 5. Eric Jackson of 
Spring. Owl Asset Management. Many of those deals are smaller acqui hires buys of companies for their staff, not the products they sell in the mobile space. Analysts criticize the approach as a scattershot strategy that has failed to move the needle. The Yahoo way is, Well throw 1. Rich Tullo, analyst with Albert Fried Co. But you need a sniper rifle in this business. Mayer has touted growth of Yahoos so called Mavens business, comprising mobile, video, native, and social ads. That segment represented 3. Over the past three and a half years, we took a company that, despite its rich history, faced legacy revenue declines, and we forged a Yahoo that is stronger and more modern, Mayer said on the companys first quarter earnings call in April. Personal site of authoreditor Pat McNees, personal historian and medical historian, bringing a light touch to heavy subjects, helping people and organizations tell. But so far, Mavens has not stopped the bleeding at Yahoo. The company is projecting 2. Mobile was something Yahoo had to go after, says Scott Kessler, equity analyst at S P Global Market Intelligence. The problem is, after all the M A, people asked, Are these actions really going to enhance the companys growth profile What became apparent was that they didnt. Both search and display ad revenue for Yahoo will drop by double digit percentages this year even as heavyweights like Google and Facebook continue to punch up sales 
in the growing sectors, according to research firm e. Marketer. Tumblr has been a particular disappointment for Yahoo. Its a hipster porn platform, essentially, says Tullo. Why isnt it Pinterest or Instagram Tumblr will contribute just 2. Yahoos bottom line on 8. Sun. Trust. Reflecting Mayers poor track record of deal making, in the fourth quarter of 2. Power comes in many forms, but it boils down to having influence over people, resources, and the global conversation. Major corporations often wield more. Our popular daily links, including liquid water, IMF cuts growth forecast, Trump and Syria, Tories split on Brexit, Senate health care bill. Forex Margin Call Explained babypips. Learn what a margin call is in forex trading and watch how quickly you. Yahoo recorded goodwill impairment charges of 1. That included a 2. Tumblr. Yahoo said in an SEC filing that it is reasonably possible it could write down all of the remaining goodwill associated with Tumblr. Watch Here Alone Online Flashx.