Jerry Yang

Co-founder of Yahoo!, Yang is a Chinese American entrepreneur who also served as the company's CEO (Chief Yahoo).

Born in Taiwan in 1968, Yang immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of ten. He spoke very little English upon arrival but quickly adapted, eventually earning both his bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University. It was during his time at Stanford that Yang met David Filo, his future business partner.

In 1994, Yang and Filo co-founded Yahoo! as a web directory, initially called "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web." The project began as a way to keep track of websites they found interesting, but it rapidly grew into one of the most visited destinations on the early internet. Yahoo! was officially incorporated in 1995 and went public in 1996, with its IPO becoming one of the most celebrated of the dot-com era.

Yang has served as CEO of Yahoo! from 2007 to 2009, a turbulent period during which he famously rejected Microsoft's acquisition bid of approximately $44.6 billion. His tenure as CEO attracted considerable controversy, and Yang stepped down in 2009. He remained on Yahoo's board until 2012.

Following his departure from Yahoo!, Yang turned his attention to venture capital and investing, co-founding the investment firm AME Cloud Ventures. He has maintained a particular interest in Asian technology markets and became a noted early investor in Alibaba Group, a decision that proved enormously consequential for Yahoo's financial history.