These are the 10 candidates most likely to replace Marissa Mayer if she leaves Yahoo (YHOO)

By: Business Insider

November 30, 2015 at 08:42 AM EST

Reuters / Mike Segar

A number of media reports in recent weeks have suggested investors, analysts, and Yahoo insiders have been calling into question the stability of CEO Marissa Mayer at the top of the company.

Meanwhile, activist hedge fund and Yahoo shareholder Starboard has urged the company to halt its plan to sell its $20 billion stake in Alibaba because of the risk of incurring taxes on the sale.

In a letter, the investor also expressed concerns about the performance of Yahoo's core business. Another shareholder, managing director of hedge fund Ader Investment Management Eric Jackson, said last week: "The company and the shareholders would be better served with [Marissa Mayer] leaving."

There's no indication from Yahoo that Mayer is going anywhere yet. Nevertheless, analysts at SunTrust have compiled a list of ~40 potential successors to the CEO role.

The list, based on conversations with tech and media industry executives and investors (we've contacted SunTrust's analysts to find out the sample size,) was then sorted into a top 10 most likely candidates, graded on five criteria (1 point for each):

1) Public CEO or top level management experience

2) Strong knowledge of Yahoo

3) Strong media understanding

4) Strong technology understanding

5) Turnaround experience

We've compiled the list of the most-mentioned executives, ordered from the most-likely to least-likely candidates, as graded by SunTrust. Interestingly, the list is 50% male/female.

Ross LevinsohnLinkedIn

Current role: Chairman at Scout Media

Score: 5

Why: Public CEO experience, familiarity with Yahoo, media experience, technology expertise, and turnaround capabilities.

Levinsohn was the former interim CEO of Yahoo in 2012 and clearly has intimate knowledge of the company, having previously worked there for two years. He had a shot at becoming the permanent Yahoo CEO, but the board hired Mayer instead. SunTrust says Levinsohn was one of two most frequently-mentioned potential candidates likely to be suitable for the role.

Dan RosensweigLean In

Current role: CEO of Chegg

Score: 5

Why: Public CEO experience, familiarity with Yahoo, media experience, technology expertise, and turnaround capabilities.

Rosensweig was Yahoo's COO between 2002 and 2006. He's now CEO at Chegg, a publicly listed company that specializes in online textbook rentals and online tutoring. Alongside Levinsohn, Rosenweig was the most-mentioned candidate in SunTrust's poll.

Jim LanzoneLinkedIn

Current role: CEO of CBS Interactive

Score: 4

Why: Public CEO experience, media experience, technology expertise, turnaround capabilities.

Lanzone has ample knowledge in running an online media company. In his current role, he operates websites such as CNET and CBS.com. Prior to that, he was the CEO of internet TV guide Clicker.com. In the 1990s he founded eTour, a direct marketing and internet media company, which was acquired by Ask in 2001.

David Rosenblatt1st Dibs

Current role: CEO of 1st Dibs

Score: 4

Why: Public CEO experience, media experience, technology expertise, turnaround capabilities.

Rosenblatt is a highly-respected internet advertising executive and entrepreneur. He was the former CEO of DoubleClick from 2004 to 2007, when it was sold to Google for $3.2 billion. Following that acquisition, he stayed on as Google's president of global display advertising until 2009. Alongside his role at online furniture and antiques marketplace 1st Dibs, he also sits on the board of Twitter and Interactive Corp, which owns Ask, Vimeo, and The Daily Beast.

Sheryl SandbergReuters / Mike Segar

Current role: Facebook COO

Score: 2

Why: Media experience, technology expertise, most-mentioned candidate.

SunTrust's analysts say that Sandberg is not likely to leave her current role at Facebook but said she is on the list because her name was mentioned so frequently in conversations. The analysts added: "She is a widely-respected and a proven executive." Before helping to build up Facebook to a multi-billion dollar revenue generating business, Sandberg was vice president of Google's global online sales and operations. She also sits on Disney's board.

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