Timothy Koogle

Timothy Andrew Koogle
Born	(1951-07-05) July 5, 1951 Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation	Business executive
Years active	1983–2003
Known for	Inaugural CEO and president of Yahoo!

Timothy Andrew Koogle (born July 5, 1951) is an American business leader who was the inaugural CEO and president of the internet company Yahoo! from 1995 until 2001. He held the position of chairman at Yahoo! between 1999 and 2003 and earned recognition as one of BusinessWeek's Top 25 Executives in both 1999 and 2000.

Early life and education

Raised in Alexandria, Virginia, Koogle completed his secondary education at Mount Vernon High School in 1969. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia in 1973, then pursued graduate studies at Stanford University, where he received an M.S. in 1975 and a Ph.D. in engineering by 1977.

Professional

During his time at Stanford, Koogle launched two ventures: one was an automotive repair shop with a focus on racing engines, and the other was a mechanical design and prototyping company that evolved into Phase 2, specializing in industrial robotics. He sold Phase 2 to Motorola in 1981 and eventually closed the racing engine enterprise. He joined Motorola as an employee in 1983.

In 1992, Koogle took on the role of president for Litton Industry's Intermec division while also serving as senior vice president at Western Atlas. After two years in these roles, he was approached by recruiter Alan Sabourin on behalf of venture capitalist and Yahoo! board member Michael Moritz, to assume the CEO position at the nascent Yahoo!. Following meetings with founders Jerry Yang and David Filo in June 1995, he was chosen as CEO and president in August, prevailing over several other contenders.