Yahoo Was the GE of the Internet

[Commentary] From around 1998-2003, Yahoo was the breeding ground for the best and brightest cross-functional leaders on the Internet.

These “Yahoo Bosses” have been indispensable as the critical managers who have stitched together the fabric of what makes today’s leading Internet companies and the Silicon Valley ecosystem thrive. If not for Yahoo, it would have been difficult for there to be a Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, PayPal, Uber, Pinterest -- you name it. Regardless of the organizational function, whether it is in finance, human resources, legal, sales, engineering, product management, investing or building the next big thing, Yahoo’s managers knew how to operate on the Internet.

[Rob Soloman is a Venture Partner at Accel Partners]