History of YAHOO

The History of Yahoo!

Yahoo! began as a student hobby and evolved into a global brand that has changed the way people communicate with each other, find and access information and purchase things. The two founders of Yahoo!, David Filo and Jerry Yang, Ph.D. candidates in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, started their guide in a campus trailer in February 1994 as a way to keep track of their personal interests on the Internet. Before long they were spending more time on their home-brewed lists of favorite links than on their doctoral dissertations. Eventually, Jerry and David's lists became too long and unwieldy, and they broke them out into categories. When the categories became too full, they developed subcategories ... and the core concept behind Yahoo! was born.
The Web site started out as "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web" but eventually received a new moniker with the help of a dictionary. The name Yahoo! is an acronym for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle," but Filo and Yang insist they selected the name because they liked the general definition of a yahoo: "rude, unsophisticated, uncouth." Yahoo! itself first resided on Yang's student workstation, "Akebono," while the software was lodged on Filo's computer, "Konishiki" - both named after legendary sumo wrestlers.
Jerry and David soon found they were not alone in wanting a single place to find useful Web sites. Before long, hundreds of people were accessing their guide from well beyond the Stanford trailer. Word spread from friends to what quickly became a significant, loyal audience throughout the closely-knit Internet community. Yahoo! celebrated its first million-hit day in the fall of 1994, translating to almost 100 thousand unique visitors.
Due to the torrent of traffic and enthusiastic reception Yahoo! was receiving, the founders knew they had a potential business on their hands. In March 1995, the pair incorporated the business and met with dozens of Silicon Valley venture capitalists. They eventually came across Sequoia Capital, the well-regarded firm whose most successful investments included Apple Computer, Atari, Oracle and Cisco Systems. They agreed to fund Yahoo! in April 1995 with an initial investment of nearly $2 million.
Realizing their new company had the potential to grow quickly, Jerry and David began to shop for a management team. They hired Tim Koogle, a veteran of Motorola and an alumnus of the Stanford engineering department, as chief executive officer and Jeffrey Mallett, founder of Novell's WordPerfect consumer division, as chief operating officer. They secured a second round of funding in Fall 1995 from investors Reuters Ltd. and Softbank. Yahoo! launched a highly-successful IPO in April 1996 with a total of 49 employees.
Today, Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company that offers a comprehensive branded network of services to more than 345 million individuals each month worldwide. As the first online navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com is the leading guide in terms of traffic, advertising, household and business user reach. Yahoo! is the No. 1 Internet brand globally and reaches the largest audience worldwide. The company also provides online business and enterprise services designed to enhance the productivity and Web presence of Yahoo!'s clients. These services include Corporate Yahoo!, a popular customized enterprise portal solution; audio and video streaming; store hosting and management; and Web site tools and services. The company's global Web network includes 25 World properties. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Yahoo! has offices in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia, Canada and the United States.
Management Team:
Terry SemelChairman and Chief Executive Officer

Terry S. Semel is the chairman and chief executive officer of Yahoo! Inc, a leading global Internet company. Semel is focused on providing the strategy and vision that will allow Yahoo! to attain its goal to be Internet's leading global consumer and business services company. A globally-respected media and entertainment executive, Semel was named Yahoo!'s chairman and CEO in May 2001.
Previously, Semel spent 24 years at Warner Bros., most noted for his role as chairman and co-chief executive officer where he and his partner, Robert Daly, helped build Warner Bros. into one of the world's largest and most creative media and entertainment enterprises. Like Yahoo!, Warner Bros. reaches billions of worldwide consumers through its vast stable of properties. Semel is credited with building Warner Bros. from a single revenue source generating less than $1 billion to nearly $11 billion total revenues from multiple, diverse businesses in 50 countries.
Prior to Warner Bros., Semel was in charge of Walt Disney's Theatrical Distribution division and previously in charge of CBS' Theatrical Distribution division. Semel is currently on the Board of Directors of Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Television and Radio.
In 2005, Semel was granted the UCLA Medal, which is the highest honor bestowed by the university, and the Yale Legends in Leadership Award.


Jerry YangCo-founder and Chief Yahoo

Jerry Yang, a Taiwanese native raised in San Jose, Calif., co-created the Yahoo! Internet navigational guide in April 1994 with David Filo and co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in April 1995. Mr. Yang, a leading force in the media industry, has been instrumental in building Yahoo! into the world's most highly trafficked Web site and one of the Internet's most recognized brands. A member of Yahoo!'s board of directors, Mr. Yang works closely with the company's CEO and executive team to develop corporate business strategies and guide the future direction of the company. Mr. Yang is currently on the Board of Directors of Alibaba, the Asian Pacific American Community Fund, Cisco and Yahoo! Japan, and is also on the Stanford University Board of Trustees. Mr. Yang holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University and is currently on a leave of absence from Stanford's electrical engineering Ph.D. program. Terry S. Semel is the chairman and chief executive officer of Yahoo! Inc, a leading global Internet company. Semel is focused on providing the strategy and vision that will allow Yahoo! to attain its goal to be Internet's leading global consumer and business services company. A globally-respected media and entertainment executive, Semel was named Yahoo!'s chairman and CEO in May 2001.
Previously, Semel spent 24 years at Warner Bros., most noted for his role as chairman and co-chief executive officer where he and his partner, Robert Daly, helped build Warner Bros. into one of the world's largest and most creative media and entertainment enterprises. Like Yahoo!, Warner Bros. reaches billions of worldwide consumers through its vast stable of properties. Semel is credited with building Warner Bros. from a single revenue source generating less than $1 billion to nearly $11 billion total revenues from multiple, diverse businesses in 50 countries.
Prior to Warner Bros., Semel was in charge of Walt Disney's Theatrical Distribution division and previously in charge of CBS' Theatrical Distribution division. Semel is currently on the Board of Directors of Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Television and Radio.
In 2005, Semel was granted the UCLA Medal, which is the highest honor bestowed by the university, and the Yale Legends in Leadership Award.
Semel holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Long Island University and an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Emerson.
Terry S. Semel is the chairman and chief executive officer of Yahoo! Inc, a leading global Internet company. Semel is focused on providing the strategy and vision that will allow Yahoo! to attain its goal to be Internet's leading global consumer and business services company. A globally-respected media and entertainment executive, Semel was named Yahoo!'s chairman and CEO in May 2001.
Previously, Semel spent 24 years at Warner Bros., most noted for his role as chairman and co-chief executive officer where he and his partner, Robert Daly, helped build Warner Bros. into one of the world's largest and most creative media and entertainment enterprises. Like Yahoo!, Warner Bros. reaches billions of worldwide consumers through its vast stable of properties. Semel is credited with building Warner Bros. from a single revenue source generating less than $1 billion to nearly $11 billion total revenues from multiple, diverse businesses in 50 countries.
Prior to Warner Bros., Semel was in charge of Walt Disney's Theatrical Distribution division and previously in charge of CBS' Theatrical Distribution division. Semel is currently on the Board of Directors of Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Television and Radio.
In 2005, Semel was granted the UCLA Medal, which is the highest honor bestowed by the university, and the Yale Legends in Leadership Award.
Semel holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Long Island University and an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Emerson.
David FiloCo-founder and Chief Yahoo!

David Filo, a native of Moss Bluff, La., co-created the Yahoo! Internet navigational guide in April 1994 with Jerry Yang and co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in April 1995. Filo serves as a key technologist, directing the technical operations behind the company's global network of Web properties. He is credited with helping build Yahoo! into the world's most highly trafficked Web site and one of the Internet's most recognized brands. Filo holds a B.S. degree in computer engineering from Tulane University and an M.S. degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He is currently on a leave of absence from Stanford's electrical engineering Ph.D. program







Biografy of Jerry Yang:

Jerry Yang
Jerry Yang
Born:
November 6, 1968Taipei, Taiwan
Occupation:
Co-founder and Chief Yahoo!, Yahoo! Inc.
Salary:
(unknown)
Net worth:
$2.4 billion USD (2006)
Spouse:
Akiko Yamazaki





Early life
Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Yang moved to San Jose, California at the age of ten, with his widowed mother (Lily) and younger brother (Ken). His father had died when Yang was two. He claimed that despite his mother being an English teacher, he only knew one English word (shoe) on his arrival. Mastering the English language in only three years, he was soon placed into an AP English class.
Yang graduated from Piedmont Hills High School, then went on to receive his B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
Career
While undertaking his Ph.D. studies in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, he co-created an Internet website consisting of a directory of other websites in April 1994 with David Filo called "Jerry's Guide to the World Wide Web". It was renamed Yahoo, a backcronym for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle", but Yang and Filo insist they selected the name because they liked the general definition of a yahoo: "rude, unsophisticated, uncouth". Yahoo became really popular, Yang and Filo realized the business potential and co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in April 1995.[2] They took a leave of absence and postponed their doctoral programs indefinitely.
Yahoo! started off as a web portal with a web directory to providing an extensive range of products and services for online activities, it is now one of the leading internet brands and has the most trafficked network on the internet.
Personal life
Yang married Akiko Yamazaki, a Japanese American raised in Costa Rica. She is an anthropologist.
Yang is currently on the Board of Directors of Alibaba, the Asian Pacific American Community Fund, Cisco and Yahoo! Japan, and is also on the Stanford University Board of Trustees.[3]
Yang created controversy based on his public comments regarding Yahoo's role in the imprisonment of reporters in the People's Republic of China, in particular his defense of Yahoo's willingness to turn over the identity of Chinese reporters who were later jailed.[citation needed] Shi Tao was among those imprisoned.
Jerry Yang and his wife pledged to give USD $75 million for Stanford University, his alma mater that would be used for building a new environmental building, etc.[4]





Biografy of David Filo:
David Filo
Born:
Wisconsin, US
Occupation:
Co-founder and Chief Yahoo!, Yahoo! Inc.
Salary:
(42,000,009)
Net worth:
$3 billion USD (2005)
Website:
http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/management.cfm
David Filo is the co-founder of Yahoo! with Jerry Yang.
David Filo, at age 6, moved to Moss Bluff, Louisiana, a suburb of Lake Charles, Louisiana. He graduated from Sam Houston High School and then earned a BS in Computer Engineering from Tulane University (through the Dean's Honor Scholarship) and a MS from Stanford University.
Until the company recently decided to switch to PHP (A programming language for creating dynamic websites), his Filo Server Program, written in C, would provide Filo Server Pages that brokered requests from the Yahoo! home page.
According to Forbes, in 2005, Filo was worth an estimated $3 billion, ranking #73 in the wealthiest of Americans.
As a philanthropist, in 2005 he donated $30 million to his alma mater, Tulane University