As Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer prepares for a Tuesday unveiling of her new direction for the embattled web company, general counsel Ron Bell is getting some preliminary attention for a leaked internal memo he penned. Its title: Leaks Uncool.
According to Kara Swisher, writing in All Things D, Bell told employees:
Its never OK to share information in an internal memo EVEN if the company issues public communications about the same subject . . . We will fire employees who leak company confidential information and we will avail ourselves of all other legal remedies to protect those confidences.
And just to make sure his point was clear, Bell added, If you do it, you can go to jail and face a very large fine.
The GCs memo comes after a series of employee leaks to media about all manner of Yahoo internal doings, from last weeks finalization of the companys sale of the Alibaba Group to a preview of Mayers Tuesday presentation (which was leaked, again, to Swisher).
In Swishers Monday column about Bells anti-leak admonishment, she cant help poking fun at Bells earnest tone (Jeepers, I better lob a call in to Ally McBeal, stat!), while also pointing out that the GC might be setting an unwinnable goal for Yahoo: Memo to Ron Bell: Humans like to talk and they like to share, especially at a media company.
Of course, the focus on Bells memo will quickly fade once Mayer takes the spotlight with her eight-point plan to bring the company back from the brink of Internet irrelevanceand after that, all the leaks in the world might not matter much. As Swisher notes: If Yahoos new team actually managed to turn the company around, even a mountain of leaked memos wouldnt matter one iota.