Scott Thompson, Former Yahoo CEO, Reportedly Diagnosed With Thyroid Cancer

Scott Thompson, who stepped down as the chief executive officer of Yahoo Inc. over the weekend, has reportedly been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Thompson, 54, told his colleagues about the diagnosis just before tendering his resignation from the search engine giant.

In recent weeks, the former PayPal president has faced criticism from Daniel Loeb, a Yahoo investor and the founder and CEO of hedge fund Third Point, for allegedly embellishing academic credentials on his resume. On May 7, Thompson issued an apology to employees for the brouhaha.

Thompson was named Yahoo's chief in January after the board ousted CEO Carol Bartz. With his departure, Ross Levinsohn has been appointed the company's interim CEO, AllThingsD reported, and Fred Amoroso will take over as board chairman, replacing Roy Bostock.

Earlier on HuffPost:

From our partners

Comments

[fruity]

03:04 PM on 05/16/2012

Steve JObs had pancreatic cancer for years and ran APPLE! You don't have no scar on your neck so you must of just super recently been diagnosed

You know I have a hard time believing a senior executive, with no doubt Amanda Pieres, his PR person, hovering around anyone who got near him, that he would in confidence tell a coworker who lets see... were they also a senior exec or were they the chatty cathy that would RUN to the media the very SAME DAY he walked out the door? PLEASE. Me thinks you decided to put your own headline out to defalate the fact that you have operated with fake credentials. I highly doubt anyone would violate health related privacy around you dude. You got a stink cloud around you like pig pen!

People should wonder what credentials you have to be running Yahoo. Hmmm you're a Payment ala PAYPAL guy. So what would Yahoo need from you... unless of course we're looking at a clandestine Ebay / Paypal takeover of this corporation. I hope Daniel Loeb over at Third Point keeps digging and questions why Yahoo consistently gives market to Ebay and Paypal. You were direct competitors and you know it. Yahoo wallet was great

[Patrick Ford 1]

04:34 PM on 05/14/2012

Yeah, I'm resigning to spend more time with my lovely wife, Morgan Fairchild. Yeah, that's the ticket!

[DD LifeCoach]

12:31 PM on 05/14/2012

Thyroid cancer has a cure rate of 99.9%, no kidding. If you're going to get cancer, that's the one you want.

[Glass Cannon]

02:26 PM on 05/14/2012

I had Grave's Disease. You take a treatment of radioactive iodine and thereafter take synthetic thyroid hormone because your thyroid no longer functions. I had the treatment when I was 31. The only problem I had was mood swings during the time I was ramping up on the synthetic hormone, and tendency to gain weight very easily - I had to drastically alter my old "hyperthyroid diet" that I had become used to. This is all just my own experience, I'm not a doctor.

NOTE: I've amended my original comment at the beginning so it is clear I did not have cancer, but rather a genetic condition. I apologize if I mislead anyone, especially since the article is about cancer specifically.

[DD LifeCoach]

03:24 PM on 05/14/2012

I went ahead and had my whole thyroid removed. I was diagnosed with a malignant cancer (which is pretty rare) when I was 32. Eleven years later I'm fine and I had no major issues. I guess the word cancer really freaks people out, and for good reason. But thyroid cancer is not usually a big deal. I take my synthroid every day and I'm off and running.

[JustTheFacts4Me]

01:22 AM on 05/15/2012

Usually, they operate on thyroid cancer - especially if the person is hypo vs hyper. Also, RAI therapy is given after removal to kill the remaining cancer. That said, many people don't have as easy of a time as you had, mine was easier than most, but after 6 years, I still have to adjust meds regularly due to bad side effects. I belong to a thyroid cancer group and lots of people in it have malignant thyroid cancer that they've had a horrible time battling, not to mention major damage from the RAI radiation treatment. So, depending on what type of cancer he has, it may not be a walk in the park.

[Lechiffre]

03:00 PM on 05/14/2012

word !

[edwoodjr]

12:20 PM on 05/14/2012

So he QUIT at Paypal to take the Yahoo job and was essentially "fired" - sure hope he still has health insurance if its not crying wolf! Really weird timing...............

[94613]

12:14 PM on 05/14/2012

A healthy dose of vitamins, veracity and verbal truthfulness are just what the Doktor ordered.

[retrostar1000]

11:56 AM on 05/14/2012

I don't care about this man or his cancer, ceo's like him ARE cancer.

[mfstout]

11:26 AM on 05/14/2012

Hmmmmmmmmmmm?

[SalingersGhost]

11:26 AM on 05/14/2012

This is yet another bizarre chapter in Yahoo's bizarre history. Does he have cancer like he has a computer science degree or does he actually have cancer? If he has cancer - of course I wish him nothing but the best and hopeful recovery. If he doesn't, we'll probably never know that. But, regardless, he is already receiving new job offers...

http://mankabros.com/blogs/chairman/2012/05/04/manka-bros-would-like-to-offer-scott-thompson-a-job/

[becky bradshaw]

11:10 AM on 05/14/2012

What a Mess! Loeb (Third Point) has torpedoed another major company. He must be so proud of himself.

Loebs Hedge Fund lists its headquarters as Guernsey, a tiny little island in the English Channel. It is reasonable to assume that Loeb never pays capital gains taxes on his fund. If anyone must ever be held accountable for the coming Yahoo debacle, Loeb will be hard to find.

Loeb is most famous for his sabotage of the Canadian Insurance Company, Fairfax Financial. He boasted to his trading buddies that he was "shorting" their stock, which sent the share prices nose-diving. Later in the day, when Loeb was beating his drum, he told a friend, "Die, Prem Die!" (Prem Watsa was the CEO of Fairfax). http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/11/us-hedgefunds-fairfax-loeb-idUSTRE72A4NH20110311

The next CEO of Yahoo will be Loeb's trained puppet. That would not be so bad if Loeb had a clue. Loeb has never run a tech company. He couldn't build a decent doghouse.

[JFetch]

07:06 PM on 05/14/2012

Yahoo has been doing a fine job of torpedoing themselves. Loeb wants to change the direction from "in the toilet" to anywhere else.

[becky bradshaw]

08:32 PM on 05/14/2012

The usual Yahoo complaint is they are not Google.  How about they are not AOL or not MySpace.  They look pretty good in that comparison.

[viciousvirago]

09:24 AM on 05/14/2012

I am sure there are people out there who are secretly glad he's got cancer. It's always nice to see a powerful, well paid person suddenly have a crisis of large proportions.

I, however, am sympathetic to him because I'm there right now. I made a lot of money, and am now unable to work. I cannot even walk more than one block before I have to sit down. I used to be a trauma surgeon and was the best at it, believing I could go on forever. Hubris personified.

I am one of those people who do NOT take joy when a famous, powerful, rich person is suddenly stricken with a serious disease. Probably because I had to learn the hard way. I intend to enjoy the remaining years of my life as much as I can.

Which is why I wish Mr. Thompson well and hope he can beat it.

[dblohangel]

12:07 PM on 05/14/2012

@viciousvirago Wish you well.
As for Scott Thompson...if we're not being manipulated by false health records...I wish him well, too. ;=D

[viciousvirago]

01:03 PM on 05/14/2012

And I wish you well, also. Take care of that body.

Do you really think he would falsify records for this purpose? I find that appalling and despicable, if true.

Peace and love.

[rtbubba]

11:10 PM on 05/14/2012

Vicious I feel your situation too. I have had health issues, at times debilitating for six years now, and it's no fun. Sometimes these trials are meant to teach us lessons of humility, patience, gratitude, mercy, and compassion. I wouldn't trade the experience but I do hope for full health, as I'm sure you do. Salaam (peace) to you..

[viciousvirago]

09:51 AM on 05/15/2012

And peace be unto you.

[woozlot]

09:07 AM on 05/14/2012

Guys like him never quit because they lied and got caught. They quit "for personal reasons" or "to spend more time with family".

[sve]

08:26 AM on 05/14/2012

It's revealing to see just how much a company is the reflection of it's management. JP Morgan's Dimon falling because of encouraged risk taking and crying for help when they lose, HP with leaders who had no personal tech chops and did not trust the employees, Steve Jobs who ignored all outside opinions and led Apple to believe in themselves and do their best. Yahoo's core problems are entirely it's leaders.

[steelej]

06:59 AM on 05/14/2012

It's probably a paper cut. He does tend to exaggerate.

[dblohangel]

12:08 PM on 05/14/2012

Wow! Let's hope ...

[JFetch]

06:50 AM on 05/14/2012

He wasn't going to stick around as CEO either way. The stock has gone down since he took over, and he is going to take time off for treatment. It's better that he leaves now before getting fired in a year.

[Guesswhen]

06:13 AM on 05/14/2012

Kind of like Karma isn't it Thompson. I'm sure all those people that were destroyed while you ran Preypal will really feel sorry for you.