Scott Thompson (businessman)
Scott Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 13, 1957 Taunton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Known for | CEO of Yahoo!, CEO of ShopRunner, CEO of Tuition.io |
Scott Thompson (born November 13, 1957) is an American executive currently leading Tuition.io as its CEO. He formerly held the position of CEO at ShopRunner.
Early life and education
Born in Taunton, Massachusetts and raised in the adjacent town of Raynham, Massachusetts, Thompson pursued higher education at Stonehill College, a private Catholic college located in Easton, Massachusetts, where he obtained a degree in accounting.
Visa
At Inovant, a subsidiary of Visa Inc. responsible for managing Visa’s worldwide technology infrastructure, Thompson served as executive vice president of Technology Solutions. In this role, he directed the development, upkeep, and support of Visa’s global payment network. Prior to that, he was chief information officer at Barclays Global Investors, where he established a global technology framework but exited due to differences over strategic direction. His earlier career included tenure at Coopers & Lybrand, where he provided IT services to financial sector clients such as Wells Fargo.
PayPal
Thompson joined PayPal as senior vice president and chief technology officer, managing IT operations, product development, and system architecture. In 2008, he advanced to the role of president.
Yahoo!
In January 2012, Yahoo! named Scott Thompson as its chief executive officer. By April that year, he initiated a reduction in workforce that eliminated 2,000 positions out of Yahoo!’s total headcount of 14,000 employees—approximately 14% of the staff. Several senior leaders left the company shortly before these layoffs took place.
On March 14, 2012, Yahoo! filed suit against Facebook alleging infringement of ten patents; Facebook responded by filing a countersuit.
College degree controversy
In May 2012, activist investor Dan Loeb from Third Point LLC publicly questioned the accuracy of Thompson’s educational background. Yahoo!’s SEC disclosures had indicated that Thompson possessed a Bachelor's degree in accounting and computer science from Stonehill College; however, investigations revealed he held only an accounting degree. Yahoo! described this discrepancy as an "inadvertent error" and initiated an internal review. Stonehill College verified that Thompson earned a B.S.B.A. with a concentration in accounting.
On May 13, 2012, Yahoo! announced Thompson’s immediate resignation and appointed Ross Levinsohn as interim CEO.
ShopRunner
From July 2012 until July 2016, Thompson was chief executive officer at ShopRunner, an online shopping platform.
Awards
Thompson was honored with the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for financial services in Northern California in 2011.
Cancer diagnosis
Thompson was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2012, a factor that influenced his departure from Yahoo!. By July of that year, he had been declared cancer-free.