Fired Yahoo! CEO forfeits $10million to say: Yahoo! ‘f—ed me over’

Anybody with even the slightest knowledge about the recently axed CEO of Yahoo!, Carol Bartz, knew that sooner or later her tough-as-nails attitude would come to the fore, and in an explosive interview with Fortune it did.

A source speaking with Fortune also informed the magazine that Bartz had a non-disparagement clause, a promise to not speak ill of the company, and that by giving this interview she forfeited US$10-million of her severance package

The interview, Bartz’s first since her dismissal, explained what led up to her getting fired over the telephone by board Chairman Roy Bostock.

According to Bartz, in New York for a conference she called Bostock as had been planned. When Bostock answered the phone, he immediately launched into a prepared lawyer’s statement to dismiss her.

While Bostock was reading the statement, Bartz told Fortune that she said to him, “I think that’s a script,” and asked, “Why don’t you have the balls to tell me yourself?”.

Once Bostock had finished his monologue, Bartz tells Fortune that she said to him, “I thought you were classier”.

Following Bostock’s call, Bartz had two hours to inform the Yahoo! board whether she would resign or be fired and knowing that lawyers for Yahoo! had gone to the St. Regis hotel to hand her her papers, she booked herself into another. As Bartz put it, “Am I stupid?!”

It was in the second hotel that she penned her now infamous final email to the internet company’s 14 000 employees.

To all,
I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.
Carol

Explaining that her plans for “revenue growth” were set to reap rewards in 2012, on about the board, Bartz said they were “doofuses” and in classic Bartz style, “these people f—ed me over”.

Image: Yahoo!