Yahoo CEO Terry Semel steps down from the helm of the search/media giant. Yahoo founder Jerry Yang (otherwise known as “Chief Yahoo”) returns to
head the company for the first time in more than a decade.

First Panama in the US, then Quality Pricing, then Panama globally - aren’t these clear indications that Yahoo was on the right track to shore up the area that was bleeding the most? Semel assured stockholders earlier this year that the plan was in place to bring the portal back to prominence, or at least to line the company coffers with some of the search advertising dollars that have been heading Google’s way, and the technology rollouts in the past 12 months have certainly helped to make that case.

But this news isn’t just about raising profits. With the nagging issue of employee churn, Yang’s arrival is more than just your typical corporate America ousting of a CEO that’s not performing. Even though Semel stepped down on his own accord, the pressure to increase morale has to be tremendous, and that’s why Yang is back in the game.

There was a time when Yahoo was King of the Hill, and though we tend to forget, that era wasn’t too long ago. The Yahoo we all know and love offered great technology, great content, and great fellowship both in and outside of the company.

Just as Yahoo’s future depends on its own technology and that of its acquisitions, it’s the culture of the company that’s going to be the one thing that will determine whether it faces a future of blue skies or storm clouds.

Semel Out, Yang In at Yahoo [via GigaOm]