Applications
Yahoo appoints Scott Thompson as CEO
MUMBAI: Yahoo! has named Scott Thompson, president of eBay‘s PayPal division, as its new CEO. Thompson will assume charge on 9 January.
Thompson‘s hiring comes at a time when the company is reviewing its strategic direction and deals with the fallout from its previous CEO Carol Bartz, who had joined Yahoo without much online-advertising experience.
Yahoo! had asked Bartz to go in September 2011 after losing patience with her attempts to turn around the company in the two and half years she was at the helm. Since then, Yahoo CFO Tim Morse has been interim CEO.
“Scott brings to Yahoo! a proven record of building on a solid foundation of existing assets and resources to reignite innovation and drive growth, precisely the formula we need at Yahoo!. His deep understanding of online businesses combined with his team building and operational capabilities will restore the energy, focus, and momentum necessary to grow the core business and deliver increased value for our shareholders,” Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock said in a statement.
Thompson has also been appointed to the company’s board of directors.
“Scott’s primary focus will be on the core business, and as CEO and Director, he will work closely with the board as we continue the strategic review process to identify the best approaches for the company and its shareholders. As part of this process, Yahoo! is considering a wide range of opportunities for the company’s business, as well as specific investments or dispositions of assets,” added Bostock.
Thompson has served as president of PayPal, eBay‘s online payment service, since January 2008 and earlier, he served as the company‘s senior VP and chief technology officer.
Thompson said, “With the ultimate goal of delivering the value our shareholders expect, my immediate focus will be on getting to know the entire team and hearing more from all Yahoo!s, working closely with the engineers and product teams, and diving deeply into our products and services to learn more about what our more than 700 million users find most engaging and useful.”
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
