Esther Dyson is one of the most respected members of the tech community. Her resignation from Yandex N.V. is a clear indication that the tech industry is going to support Ukraine any way they can. We hope this sends a strong message to the people of Russia who must stop this war now.

Yandex N.V. is a multinational corporation primarily for Russian and Russian-language users, providing 70 Internet-related products and services, including transportation, search and information services, e-commerce, navigation, mobile applications, and online advertising

Dyson is a Swiss-born American investor, journalist, author, commentator and philanthropist. Dyson is a leading angel investor focused on health care, open government, digital technology, biotechnology, and outer space. Dyson’s career now focuses on health and she continues to invest in health and technology startups.

Her resignation letter states:

Today I resigned as a non-executive board member of Yandex N.V. My co-director Ilya Strebulaev has also resigned. Please see the Yandex press release on our resignations:

Ilya and I issued a joint statement in our personal capacities as follows:

“Today we resigned from the Board of Yandex with heavy hearts.

We have been honored to serve on the Yandex board and to support its founder Arkady Volozh and the outstanding management team and employees who have built an exceptional, world-class technology business. The team has always sought to do the right thing and to serve the Russian population with access to information, mobility and many other services. Today, the company and all its employees are going through a terrible time. They find themselves under enormous pressure both inside and outside the country. Unfortunately, we have both reached the view that, in the current political environment in Russia, it has become impossible for the team to continue to provide a free and open platform for information for the Russian public without breaking the law and putting the company and its employees at risk. In these circumstances, we do not believe that we are able to continue to contribute meaningfully as members of the Board.

We respect our fellow board members who have committed to supporting the company and its nearly 20,000 employees. We know that they will continue to support the management team in its goal to stay true to its values while navigating an exceptionally challenging set of political pressures, with a view to ensuring both business continuity and, above all, the safety and security of its employees. We also want to express our deep admiration for the staff, and to acknowledge the impossible situation in which they find themselves.

Our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine as they face these brutal events, as well as to the millions of Russians of good faith who would speak out if they could do so safely. We will continue to support the Board and management in our individual capacities.”

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Purim

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