There’s more drama at trouble Internet giant Yahoo where the board is looking into how and why inaccurate information was included in CEO Scott Thompson’s biography.
The company has released a statement, as AllThingsD reports, which confirms that it is “reviewing” the matter:
In connection with the statement the company made earlier today about Scott Thompson, the Yahoo! board will be reviewing this matter, and upon completion of its review, will make an appropriate disclosure to shareholders.
The issue, raised by Dan Loeb of hedge Third Point, centers around a computer science degree from Stone Hill College that had been listed in the CEO’s biography. The information has been found to be erroneous, as Thompson actually holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration (Accounting) from the Boston-based institution.
Not only is the information inaccurate, but no such degree is offering at the college, as CNBC points out on Twitter:
Third Point: Stonehill College didn’t offer computer science degree until 1983. 1983 was 4 years after Thompson graduated.
— CNBC (@CNBC) May 3, 2012
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The error has reportedly been included on Thompson’s educational history for more than ten years and it remains unclear just how (and who) introduced the erroneous information. The computer service degree was included in his biography when he was CTO of Paypal too, as Business Insider reports.
Yahoo has since removed the line about Thompson’s education from all materials online, but the fact that it was allowed to go unchecked for as long as it did, has raised questions about the company’s vetting process.
The company was criticized by many as under-playing the importance of the error following its initial response to Leob’s claim:
Scott Thompson’s degree at Stonehill College was in bachelor science in accounting. There was an inadvertent error that stated Mr. Thompson also holds a degree in computer science. This, in no way, alters that fact that Mr. Thompson is a highly qualified executive with a successful track record leading large consumer technology companies. Under Mr. Thompson’s leadership, Yahoo! is moving forward to grow the company and drive shareholder value.
Thompson took the Yahoo hot seat in January, three months after Carol Bartz was fired.
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