Scott Thompson blames 'Resumegate' on headhunter -- report
Yahoo's embattled CEO reported to have told employees that the mistake was made by an executive placement firm when he interviewed for a post at PayPal.
Update: 3:45 PM PT In the latest episode of `As the World Turns' -- whoops, never mind. Wrong channel.
But when it comes to melodrama, the soaps have nothing on the Scott Thompson saga. Yahoo's embattled CEO is trying to hang onto his job after an activist investor found that he had falsely claimed to hold a computer science degree.
After the disclosure last week, that investor, Daniel Loeb, whose investment firm Third, Point holds a minor stake in Yahoo, has called on the board to fire Thompson and reshuffle the board of directors, adding a slate he has proposed.
Now Business Insider is reporting that Thompson is blaming the entire mess on a junior headhunter who had interviewed him in 2005 for a post at eBay subsidiary PayPal. According to BI:During this interview, Thompson says he did NOT say he had degree in computer science. But after the interview, says Thompson, this executive placement firm produced a document that said he has a degree in computer science. Thompson is telling Yahoo employees that he did not review this document. He is suggesting that the person who interviewed him may have been a junior level employee at the executive placement firm.
That would be one of the strangest turns yet in what already is a strange saga, if true. A Yahoo spokesman declined comment so it's still anyone's guess.
Separately, Reuters is reporting that Thompson said he never provided a resume or incorrect information to Yahoo. The news service says that Thompson spoke with senior executives at a meeting today, according to an unnamed source.