Textbook move: Ex-Yahoo exec becomes CEO of Chegg

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – It took three years, but former Yahoo executive Dan Rosensweig believes he has found another great Internet gig.

Rosensweig’s career shifted in a new direction this week when he took over as CEO of Chegg.com, a Silicon Valley startup that says it has rented about 2.4 million textbooks to cash-strapped college students since its 2007 inception.

It’s Rosensweig’s first job running an Internet company since he stepped down as Yahoo’s chief operating officer at the end of 2006. His departure turned out to be a prelude to years of upheaval that included Microsoft Corp.’s $47.5 billion takeover bid for the company and a shareholder revolt that ushered out two CEOs, Terry Semel and co-founder Jerry Yang.

Rosensweig, 48, watched the drama with interest, but doesn’t want to share his feelings about what happened to the company since he left. Yahoo’s stock price has dropped by more than 40 percent since he announced his resignation. The shares tripled in value while he was COO.

"I had a great time in my five years (at Yahoo) but that was three years ago," he said in an interview. "I have moved on hopefully to the next great opportunity."

Rosensweig left Yahoo with a financial package that gave him time to figure out his next move. Yahoo paid him $1.4 million in cash and awarded him 100,000 shares of stock worth about $3 million at the time.

After doing some charitable work in Africa, Rosensweig spent slightly more than a year as a partner at a private equity firm, Quadrangle Group. He returned to management during the past year overseeing the Guitar Hero video game franchise for Activision Blizzard Inc., whose CEO, Robert Kotick, is a former Yahoo director.

Rosensweig says he couldn’t pass up a chance to shake up the $10 billion textbook market. And he won’t have to worry about raising money either because privately held Chegg just got $57 million in venture capital a couple months ago.

"We have the luxury to focus on execution, execution, execution," Rosensweig said. "This is an opportunity to build a great franchise in the next five to 10 years."