Susan Decker

Susan Lynne Decker (born November 17, 1962) is an American businesswoman. She was president of Yahoo! Inc in 2007 and 2008, leading the operations of the company while Jerry Yang was chief executive officer.[1] In 2017, Decker co-founded a social networking platform called Raftr.[2][3]

Susan Decker
Susan Decker at Yahoo! all hands meeting, 2008
Born	November 17, 1962 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Nationality	American
Other names	Sue Decker, Susan L. Decker, Susan Lynne Decker
Alma mater	Tufts University, Harvard University
Occupation	President, Yahoo! Inc.

Career

Investment banking

Decker received her Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and economics from Tufts University, and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. She is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Prior to joining Yahoo, she worked at the U.S. investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette for 14 years.[4] She spent 12 years as an equity research analyst, providing coverage to institutional investors on more than 30 media, publishing, and advertising stocks.[5] In this capacity, she was listed by Institutional Investor magazine as a top rated analyst for ten consecutive years.[5] She subsequently became the global director of equity research, a $300 million operation.[4]

Yahoo!

Decker was chief financial officer and executive vice-president of finance and administration of Yahoo from 2000 to 2007.[6] From 2006 to 2007 she was executive vice president of the Advertiser and Publisher Group in addition to her CFO responsibilities,[7] where she led a consortium with the newspaper industry, and launched a display ad platform.[8]

Decker was under consideration as CEO during Jerry Yang's CEO leadership,[9] when the company was receiving a takeover offer from Microsoft. Decker drove a proposed search deal with Google as an alternative to a transaction with Microsoft, but this was rejected by the U.S. Justice Department as a breach of United States antitrust law.[10] The company asked Yang to resign, and for the board to select an outside candidate for the CEO position.[11] Decker and Yang were unable to resolve shareholder concerns as Yahoo's share price fell in 2007 and 2008 during Google's ascendency. Decker announced her intention to resign from the company on January 13, 2009, following the appointment of Carol Bartz as CEO.[12]

Post-Yahoo! directorships

Decker is on the boards of directors of Berkshire Hathaway,[13] SurveyMonkey,[14] Intel Corporation,[15] Costco,[16] and LegalZoom.[17] She was on the board of directors of Pixar Animation Studios from June 2004 to May 2006, until its sale to The Walt Disney Company, and on the board of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research from March 2005 to May 2007. She was named a Trustee of Save The Children in March 2010.[18]

In the fall of 2009, Decker became an Entrepreneur In Residence at the Harvard Business School, working with students in their own ventures and helping to develop and deliver the entrepreneurship-focused curriculum of the school's Immersion Experience Program.[19]

In 2017, Decker joined the board of directors for SurveyMonkey.[3]

Other career

Decker co-founded Raftr, a social networking platform, in 2017.[20] The platform allows users to follow stories rather than people. The app's name stems from the idea of the otter: "Otters travel in rafts — social groups of two to 100 that float together,” Decker said. “On Raftr, those groups comprise people who share passions in common."[21]

Awards and recognition

On September 30, 2010, Decker received Harvard Business School's Alumni Achievement Award.[22]

Personal life

Decker was married to Michael Dovey but the couple divorced in 2012.[23][24] Decker has three children and lives in Marin County. She enjoys skiing and grew up in Denver, Colorado.[5]

References

1. Helft, Miguel (2007-07-01). "Can She Turn Yahoo Into, Well, Google?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
2. "CNBC: Ex-Yahoo exec Susan Decker: Trust is eroding in Silicon Valley, and leaders need to get ahead of it".
3. "SurveyMonkey: SurveyMonkey Adds Susan Decker to Board of Directors".
4. Prince, CJ (2007-10-26). "Crossing Over". Institutional Investor. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
5. "Susan Decker appointed to Vail Resorts board of directors". Vail Resorts. 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
6. "Yahoo's Rising Star". Forbes. 2006-11-16. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
7. "Will CFO Decker Take the Reins at Yahoo". Retrieved 2006-12-08.
8. "Yahoo Launches Major Upgrade". Retrieved 2008-09-24.
9. "Sources: Yahoo's Decker a strong contender for CEO". Retrieved 2009-01-08.
10. "Sue Decker Makes the Yahoogle Case and (Finally) Gets It Right". Retrieved 2008-09-27.
11. "Yang steps aside as Yahoo seeks new CEO". Retrieved 2008-11-17.
12. "Sue Decker's Goodbye Memo to the Yahoo Troops". Retrieved 2009-01-14.
13. "BRK Board of Directors". Retrieved 2010-10-24.
14. "SurveyMonkey Adds Susan Decker to Board of Directors". Retrieved 2018-11-30.
15. "Intel Executive Biography". Retrieved 2010-10-24.
16. "Costco Investor Relations". Retrieved 2010-10-24.
17. "LegalZoom Board of Directors". Retrieved 2010-10-24.
18. "Board of Trustees". Retrieved 2010-03-01.
19. Vascellaro, Jessica E. (2009-09-09). "Yahoo Ex-President Returns to Harvard". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
20. "Private Company Director: SurveyMonkey Adds Another Woman Director".
21. "Digital Trends: Raftr is a new social network that puts stories, not people, front and center".
22. "Harvard Business School Presents Alumni Achievement Awards". Retrieved 2010-10-24.
23. "Mercury News: Ex-Yahoo president and husband agree to split millions in final divorce settlement".
24. "NBC Bay Area: Susan Decker Michael Dovey Divorce Final".

External links

• deckposts.net

• The Women of Berkshire Hathaway: Lessons from Warren Buffett's Female CEOs and Directors by Karen Linder