Roy J. Bostock

Roy J. Bostock
Yahoo! Chairman Roy Bostock introduces Scott Thompson to Yahoos at Scott's first Yahoo! All Hands, in January 2012
Alma materDuke University
Harvard University
Occupation(s)Investor, Business
SpouseMerilee Bostock

Roy J. Bostock is an American investor, businessman who served as chairman of Yahoo! Inc. from January 2008 to May 2012.[1][2] He currently serves on the board of directors of Delta Air Lines. From 2000 to 2001 he served as chairman of the advertising firm BCom3 Group, Inc. He is the former chairman of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and is a Trustee Emeritus of Duke University. On 29 July 2020 he was named Chairman of the Board for cellular medicine startup GID BIO Inc., a company that has a potentially break-through treatment for osteoarthritis in late-stage regulatory review.[3]

Early life

Bostock is a 1962 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Duke, where he was an English Literature major and a member of the varsity baseball and football teams. Bostock also received an MBA from Harvard Business School.[4]

Career

Bostock joined Benton & Bowles in 1964. Following the merger and subsequent creation of D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles in 1985, he served as president of the combined company. From 1990 to 1996, he served as chairman and CEO of the company.[5] He also served as chairman and CEO of the McManus Group from 1996 to 2000 and chairman of B/Com3 from 2000 to 2002.[6]

On 6 September 2011 Bostock fired Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz by telephone after stormy weather prevented their scheduled face-to-face meeting. Third Point LLC, which has a 5.2% in Yahoo, called for Bostock's resignation along with the rest of the board for a number of reasons.[7]

Personal life

Bostock and his wife, Merilee, have donated more than $13 million to Duke University, and are the namesakes of Duke's Bostock Gates and Duke's Bostock Library.[8] These donations include $2 million to Duke Libraries and $5 million to Duke Athletics.[9][10] He has three children (Victoria, Matthew and Kate) and seven grandchildren (Samuel, Anna and Luke Waters) (Storr, Zachary, Nina, and Ali Bostock). Samuel and Anna Waters are the most recent Duke graduates in the family. [citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Yahoo - Yahoo! Names Fred Amoroso Chairman and Appoints Ross Levinsohn Interim CEO". Investor.yahoo.net. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  2. ^ Carmody, Tim (7 February 2012). "Yahoo Chair Roy Bostock, 3 Directors Step Down in 'Soft eBay Takeover' | Wired Business". Wired.com. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Bostock joins late-stage biotech as pivotal Phase III trial gets underway for cellular therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee". GID BIO.
  4. ^ Partnership for Public Service Archived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Ourpublicservice.org. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  5. ^ Roy Bostock: Executive Profile & Biography – BusinessWeek. Investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  6. ^ "Roy Bostock - Forbes". People.forbes.com. 18 April 2012. Archived from the original on 24 October 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  7. ^ Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock Risks Losing Own Job After Ousting Carol Bartz, John Helyar and Brian Womack, Bloomberg, 8 September 2011
  8. ^ The Bostock Library Archived 21 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Bostock Gift Puts Duke Libraries Over Campaign Goal | Duke Today". Today.duke.edu. 6 December 2003. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  10. ^ "Roy, Merilee Bostock Donate $5 Million to Athletics - Duke University Blue Devils | Official Athletics Site". GoDuke.com. 21 February 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.