Yahoo CEO apologises for fake college degree

Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson is sorry for allowing an inaccuracy about his education to appear in his official biography, but not remorseful enough to heed calls for him to resign.Thompson apologized for the uproar caused by the misinformation in a memo sent Monday to the troubled Internet companys employees. Yahoo Inc. provided a copy of the memo to The Associated Press.The memo didnt offer any explanation why Thompsons bio has periodically listed a bachelors degree in computer science that he never received. The exaggeration was most recently repeated in documents that Yahoo filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Thompsons note of contrition came on the same day that an activist hedge fund that owns a 5.8 percent stake in Yahoo escalated its effort to oust the CEO for unethical conduct.The fund, Third Point LLC, issued a legal demand to review internal Yahoo documents that may explain how much research the companys board did about Thompsons background before hiring him in January. Third Point contends its entitled to the records under the laws of Delaware, where Yahoo is incorporated.Yahoo didnt respond to requests for comments about Third Points demand.After initially brushing off the misinformation as an inadvertent error, Yahoos board opened an investigation into the circumstances that led to the computer science degree being included in Thompsons bio. Thompson told employees that he respects the process and will provide whatever information the board requests.Besides appearing in Thompsons bio in the recent SEC documents and on Yahoos own website, the bogus degree also appeared in other summaries about the executives accomplishments during his previous job running eBay Inc.s online payment service, PayPal.Several experts in corporate ethics and board governance have said the recurring deception regarding Thompsons education is probably serious enough to end his short reign as CEO.In his memo, Thompson sounded like a man determined to stick around so he can carry out a turnaround plan that so far has focused on cutting costs. Last month, he laid off 2,000 employees, or 14 percent of the workforce, and now he is working on closing or selling about 50 Yahoo services that have been financial laggards. He is also exploring selling part of Yahoos roughly 40 percent stake in Alibaba Group, a thriving Chinese Internet company that investors view as Yahoos most valuable asset.Yahoo has promised to share its findings about Thompsons illusory degree with shareholders when the board completes its inquiry.After exposing the fabrication on Thompsons bio last week, Third Point set a noon Eastern Time deadline Monday for Yahoo to fire Thompson. Yahoos inaction triggered Mondays demand for internal records so Third Points manager, Daniel Loeb, can dig deeper into the matter.The push to dump Thompson is unfolding against the backdrop of Third Points campaign to gain four seats on Yahoos board. Loeb believes he and three allies could help boost Yahoos fortunes.Besides demanding the internal records leading to Thompsons hiring, Third Point is seeking documents on the selection of six directors.