Yahoo! Director Burkle Stepping Down

Yahoo! director Ron Burkle, the supermarket magnate, won't seek re-election to the Internet search company's board at the annual meeting later this year.

Author:: Joseph Woelfel
Publish date:: Feb 17, 2010 12:44 AM EST

Yahoo! director Ron Burkle, the supermarket magnate, won't seek re-election to the Internet search company's board at the annual meeting later this year.

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (

TheStreet

) --

Yahoo!

(YHOO)

director Ron Burkle, the supermarket magnate, won't seek re-election to the Internet search company's board at the annual meeting later this year.

Burkle, who has been on Yahoo!'s board since November 2001, is stepping down "to devote more time to his other business interests," Yahoo! said in a press release.

Nearly 38% of Yahoo! shareholders opposed Burkle's re-election to the board in 2008, the

Associated Press

reports, blaming him in part for the mishandling of a $47.5 billion takeover bid from

Microsoft

(MSFT) - Get Report

Two other Yahoo! directors, including activist investor

Carl Icahn

, have left the board in recent months. The company named a new director, Sue James, to the board in January.

-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York.

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