Lenovo said on Wednesday that Yahoo co-founder and former CEO Jerry Yang is now serving as an observer on its Board of Directors. He will not only attend board meetings, but share his experience and perspective as an Internet and technology pioneer. He will not be able to vote or have any of the rights given to directors.
While studying Electrical Engineering at Stanford, Yang and co-creator David Filo launched a website called "Jerry and Dave's Guide to the World Wide Web" in April 1994. Shortly thereafter it was renamed as Yahoo! and became quite popular, thus leading the two to co-found Yahoo Inc. as a business in April 1995. Yang finally left the company in January 2012 after being replaced by Carol Bartz as CEO in 2009.
Lenovo said Yang's appointment as an observer on the board further strengthens the company's reputation as a transparent international entity. His perspective, experience and "proven entrepreneurial spirit" will help Lenovo continue to drive growth and expand its business, the company said.
"I am honored to join Lenovo as a board observer at an exciting time in its growth," Yang said. "I look forward to leveraging my past experience as a technology entrepreneur and innovator to provide advice as Lenovo looks at new areas of growth. I believe that Lenovo's strong leadership team, coupled with their innovative strategy positions them well for continued success as a global leader in technology."
Lenovo will reportedly pay Yang $61,875 per year to serve as an observer. The Hong Kong-listed company will also offer him equity rights with a value of $135,000. In return, he will be required to attend board meetings and provide his views.
Lenovo is currently battling HP for the top spot as the world's leading PC maker. In early February, Lenovo reported that it continued to outgrow the market in all geographies with record sales, earnings and global PC market share. The company saw a quarterly sales record of $9.4 billion, a 12-percent year-over-year increase. Lenovo's smartphone business also finally became profitable in China, shipping 9.4 million phones, 9 million of which were smartphones.
