Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) is losing Chief Operating Officer Henrique de Castro for all the right reasons, Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.
Re/code's Kara Swisher first reported that de Castro was on his way out after the executive was noticeably absent from CEO Marissa Mayer's keynote address at CES. More importantly, Mayer hired de Castro in 2012 for his expertise as an ad sales executive. Display ad revenue fell 12% and 7%, respectively, in the second and third quarters.
In an SEC filing, Yahoo! said that de Castro would receive "severance benefits" per the conditions of his employment as outlined in his offer letter and a February 2013 severance agreement. How much he's due isn't entirely clear but his initial package called for $600,000 in base salary, a cash bonus intended to be 90% of salary, and $36 million worth of restricted stock and performance stock options.
A hefty price, to be sure. Yet Tim says he'd rather Mayer find and hire talent that's more aligned with her all-in bet on original content and contextual "Stream Ads" that sit alongside original articles in Yahoo! app feeds.
Do you agree? Or would you have preferred Yahoo! do a better job leveraging de Castro's talents? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take and then leave a comment to let us know whether you would buy, sell, or short Yahoo! stock at current prices.
