Yahoo holds turnaround plan close to the vest

Computerworld - Yahoo's new CEO Marissa Mayer reportedly detailed her plans to rebuild the Internet company to Yahoo employees today at a meeting.

While a few reports hit Twitter that at least one of the two planned meetings had begun today, there has been no news of what Mayer's strategy to turn the company around actually is. The AllThingsD site has noted that Yahoo executives were trying to clamp down on any internal leaks of company information.

Anne Espiritu, a Yahoo spokeswoman, told Computerworld in an email today that the company isn't making any official announcement today. However, she said Yahoo plans to share details on Mayer's "approach to building Yahoo's future" during the company's next financial earnings call in mid-October.

News reports on Monday said that Mayer, who left a top spot at Google in July to join Yahoo was set to roll out her strategic plan during a companywide meeting at Yahoo's Sunnyvale, Calif., headquarters. All Things D, citing an internal memo, said Mayer had already met twice with Yahoo's board of directors to lay out her plans.

The company was expected to hold morning and afternoon meetings today to accommodate employees in different time zones.

After a few months in Yahoo's top chair, Mayer should have had time to analyze Yahoo's strengths and weaknesses, industry analysts said. Now it's time for her to come up with a plan that will not only soothe employees who have dealt with executive scandal and a swinging door of CEOs over the past year, but also will energize them going forward.

"She's had time to study the problems. She's bonded with the employees and improved morale. And she's had time to fashion a vision for Yahoo," said Dan Olds, an analyst with The Gabriel Consulting Group, said. "The honeymoon isn't quite over, but it's just about time to start packing the bags and heading toward the airport and the long flight back to everyday life."

Mayer has her hands full. Yahoo, once an Internet pioneer, has been losing mindshare and struggling financially over the last several years.

The Internet company has has three different CEOs in less than a year, and was rocked by scandal when former CEO Scott Thompson left earlier this year after an investigation was launched into the legitimacy of his academic credentials. Thompson had been with the company for only five months.

Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin, on Google+ or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her email address is sgaudin@computerworld.com.

See more by Sharon Gaudin on Computerworld.com.

Read more about IT Leadership in Computerworld's IT Leadership Topic Center.