Intel named two new board members today: eBay CEO John Donahoe and Frank Yeary, vice chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley. In a related announcement, the company said Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz has retired from Intel’s board.
Bartz was already an Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) board member when she joined Yahoo earlier this year.
Yahoo’s (NASDAQ: YHOO) former president Sue Decker took some heat from shareholders at the company’s last shareholder’s meeting in August for serving on multiple boards, while the Web giant fumbled a $44.6 billion unsolicited buyout bid from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). Decker serves on the boards of Intel, Berkshire Hathaway and Costco Wholesale. Bartz’ decision to leave Intel’s board, may underscore an intent to show she is focused on Yahoo.
Donahoe, 48, has been eBay’s president and CEO since 2008 after joining the giant online auction site in 2005. Intel said Yeary, 45, guides U.C. Berkeley’s long-range financial strategy and provides financial expertise for global research and education partnerships between the public and private sectors. He’s also a former head of mergers and acquisitions at Citigroup.
Analyst Nathan Brookwood says it makes sense for Intel to reach beyond its semiconductor focus in choosing board members.
“Linking the public and private sector with education partnerships is a big deal for Intel,” said Brookwood, a research fellow with Insight64. “Education is one area the company has been actively engaged in for years. So having someone from U.C. is very consistent with their plans.