Yahoo's long-time general counsel and executive vice president Mike Callahan is leaving the company, leaving Ron Bell, currently deputy general counsel for products and the Americas region, as interim general counsel reporting to interim CEO Ross Levinsohn. According to an internal memo, Callahan is not leaving the company for another job elsewhere, but he has been considering this departure since the beginning of the year, AllThingsD's Kara Swisher reported.
Callahan joined Yahoo in December 1999, and served as the company's top lawyer for almost a decade, handling legal affairs and public policy globally. Yahoo made the disclosure regarding Callahan's departure in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, June 29. The resignation is effective July 9.
Callahan has played a very powerful role within the company on a range of issues, including Yahoo's dispute and eventual partnership with Microsoft and the current patent settlement negotiations with Facebook. In addition, he has also been a key adviser to Yahoo's series of CEOs over the last few years.
According to AllThingsD's sources, Callahan's departure was not prompted by the current investigations into to the fake computer science degree on Thompson's bio, which caused a great scandal at Yahoo. Several directors are reportedly looking into the whole fake degree mess, trying to determine how the false information got into Yahoo's legal filings.
"After twelve and a half years with Yahoo!, and almost nine years as our General Counsel, Mike Callahan has notified me of his decision to leave Yahoo! So that he can move on to new opportunities," reads the internal memo sent by interim CEO Ross Levinsohn and published by AllThingsD. "We would like to thank him sincerely for his time at the Company."
"With Mike's departure, I am pleased that another long time legal Yahoo, Ron Bell, currently Deputy General Counsel for Products and the Americas Region, has agreed to serve as interim General counsel reporting to me."
After more than 12 years with the company, Callahan explained in his resignation letter that he wanted to explore new opportunities. "As I depart, I have great confidence in Yahoo and I wish you and the rest of the Yahoo team all the best for future successes," he wrote in a letter to Levinsohn and Yahoo Chairman Alfred Amoroso.
