True to form, Yahoo's just-axed chief exec Carol Bartz isn't going quietly into the night -- and, as such, is threatening to do even more damage to the company. In emails and an interview with Fortune this week, Bartz called fellow Yahoo board members "doofuses," adding that they all
"f---ed [her] over."
In a follow-up story, Fortune writes, "The
language isn't surprising to anyone who has followed Bartz's career. But even colorful CEOs usually keep such thoughts to themselves in the days after termination, largely to protect lucrative payment
packages that come with non-disparagement clauses attached."
On that last point, a source tells Fortune that Bartz did indeed have a nondisparagement clause in her employment contract, on
which there is still around $10 million outstanding. Did she just violate it with her comments? It looks that way, doesn't it?
"Given Bartz's colorful history of offensive -- and often
profane -- public remarks, it would make perfect sense for Yahoo to add a nondisparagement clause to her contract," VentureBeat writes. "The only question that remains is whether Bartz actually violated that clause with her comments earlier in the week."
More than name-calling, "Bartz
claimed [this week] that it was the board's actions that landed the company in the situation it's in today: hemorrhaging ad dollars," writes Vator News. That means, at least in Bartz's potentially
bitter view, that her removal won't fix anything, and that Yahoo is worse off than ever.
Partly as a result, Bartz just made ReadWriteWeb's list of worst tech CEOs. As it writes: "If only Bartz had been as decisive and
commanding in making the right changes at Yahoo as she was in [onetime telling off TechCrunch founder] Michael Arrington, Yahoo might be in much better shape today."
Oh, and in case
you're wondering, Bartz reportedly intends to remain on the board of directors of Yahoo, because she wants "to make sure that the employees don't believe that I've abandoned them." It's a nice
sentiment, but, as Mashable writes: "Bartz ... doesn't get to decide whether she remains on Yahoo's board.
That's up to the shareholders. She certainly isn't likely to find many allies on Yahoo's board of directors."