Yahoo director to quit amid role in CEO's 'bogus degree' scandal

Washington, May 9 (ANI): Yahoo director Patti Hart will step down from the board of the embattled Internet firm amid revelations over her role in hiring controversial CEO Scott Thompson.

Hart, who led the committee that hired Thompson four months ago, will surrender her Yahoo seat at the company's still unscheduled annual meeting.

She framed her decision as a commitment to focus on her job as CEO of the gambling-machine maker International Game Technology, while allowing the Yahoo board to deal with the recent revelations about Thompson's inaccurate academic credentials, The Herald Sun reports.

"It has been my privilege to serve Yahoo stockholders and I remain confident in the company's future," the report quoted Hart, as saying.

According to the report, Yahoo thanked Hart for serving on its board since June 2010 and wished her luck.

The turmoil began when one of Yahoo's largest investors recently demanded that Thompson be dismissed and asked the firm to allow access to documents relating to the latter's recruitment.

Third Point criticized Thompson for wrongly claiming that he had earned a computer science degree, and called her actions 'insulting' to shareholders. (ANI)