• The Financial Times, Wednesday, December 10, 2008 12:15 PM

A new frontrunner has emerged in the race to succeed departing Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang: Arun Sarin, the former head of UK-based Vodafone, the world's largest mobile operator. According to The Financial Times, Yahoo has approached Sarin with "strong interest," although the former Vodafone chief has made no decision on whether to join the ailing Web giant, saying he was considering other offers as well. The report claims that at least one possibility would involve the position of chairman rather than CEO.

Sarin stepped down from his post at Vodafone in July after five years with the telecom giant. He is credited with leading the company's expansion into emerging markets, although he suffered a shareholder revolt in 2006 due to concerns about slowing growth in Vodafone's core European operations. He was later able to repair relations with investors. Sarin is also the former CEO of Infospace, a once-mighty conglomerate of search engines.

A Yahoo insider said the company was "still relatively early in the process" of finding a successor to Yang, and that other candidates had been contacted but no offers had yet been made. The same source said the Yahoo board met last Thursday to review the CEO search process but that priority had not been given to any one candidate. Yahoo has been searching for a new CEO since Jerry Yang announced he would depart three weeks ago. To aid its search, Yahoo hired executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.

Read the whole story at The Financial Times »