Terry Semel, Yahoo!'s non-executive chairman, is set to step down from his position on the search engine's board of directors, it has been announced.The firm has been aware of his wish to leave for several months, with Mr Semel having targeted the time of the January board meeting for his departure.
According to a company statement, he has worked closely with Yahoo! chief executive officer Jerry Yang to "ensure an orderly transition process since that time".
Speaking of his colleague, Mr Yang stated: "Terry Semel has been a great partner and true friend, and has played a key role in helping to grow Yahoo!'s business - and industry-leading audience - over the past seven years.
"He also has been a tremendously valuable resource in recent months, as our new management team developed and begun to execute our strategic growth plans."
Mr Yang went on to thank him on behalf of the board for the contributions he has made while at the search engine provider.
Yahoo! revealed that fellow board member Roy Bostock has been elected to serve as its new non-executive chairman in Mr Semel's place, citing his "tremendous insight and leadership" among the reasons for his selection.
Mr Bostock takes on his new position at a difficult time, with the company revealing earlier this week that it is to axe 1,000 jobs in its biggest cull of staff since the dotcom crash.
