In corporate America, it’s easy to forget the little guy, but this story illustrates that even a single shareholder can assert his rights.

A single Yahoo shareholder discovered that Yahoo’s Chief Executive, Scott Thompson, had misrepresented certain details of his academic credentials on his resume. Specifically, Thompson stated in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he held degrees in both accounting and computer science from Stonehill College. In fact, Stonehill College didn’t even offer computer science as a major when Thompson graduated. In fact, it was not offered as a major until four years later.

The shareholder — who is also the manager of the hedge fund Third Point — is perhaps more involved than the typical shareholder: he has been waging a proxy battle for board seats at Yahoo. Nevertheless, his shareholder inquiry has produced a big response from Yahoo. Thompson sent out a staff-wide apology, and one board member decided not to seek reelection. In addition, another source claims that the Yahoo director in charge of the search that led to Thompson’s hiring in January has decided not to seek reelection to the board at its next annual meeting.

Yahoo has not only had to face this most recent shareholder debacle, but has also faced financial pressures in the recent past. Although it remains one of the largest Internet names, the corporation has had to downsize its workforce by nearly 14 percent. The announcement of the 2,000 employee layoff came only one month ago.

The rights of shareholders often take center stage — either in the press or in courts — during mergers and acquisitions. However, the fiduciary duty that executives owe to shareholders may extend even to something as small as … a resume.

Source: The Los Angeles Times, “Yahoo CEO apologizes in resume flap; board member Patti Hart to depart,” Andrea Chang, May 8, 2012