Carol Bartz - Yahoo Gets New CEO

Back in mid-November 2008, Yahoo debuted the season of CEO harvesting as Jerry Yang announced that he was stepping down from the position of head of the company. On January 13, 2009, the Sunnyvale Internet giant announced that Yang's position would be taken by technology veteran Carol Bartz. With Yang at the helm, Yahoo made a range of unsuccessful moves, from saying no to a $44 billion marriage proposal from Microsoft, to attempting to build a search and advertising monopoly by partnering with Google, and to following a strategy that would ultimately seek the value of its stock sink.

Now, the new Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Yahoo, Carol Bartz, said that “Yahoo is a powerful global brand with a great collection of assets, strong technology, and enormously talented employees. The Company has accomplished a great deal in its relatively short history, and I look forward to working together to take it to the next level. There is no denying that Yahoo has faced enormous challenges over the last year, but I believe there is now an extraordinary opportunity to create value for our shareholders and new possibilities for our customers, partners, and employees. We will seize that opportunity.”

And, just as Bartz was introduced as the new CEO of Yahoo, the company announced that President Sue Decker had resigned, but that she would stay on for a transition period. Bartz occupied the position of Executive Chairman of Autodesk as of 2006, prior to which she had served as CEO of Autodesk for fourteen years. Roy Bostock, Yahoo chairman of the Board, applauded a new era of growth for Yahoo, as Bartz joined the company.

“I couldn't be more pleased with the Board's choice of Carol Bartz as CEO, and look forward to returning to my former role as Chief Yahoo. I believe Carol is the ideal person to take Yahoo! forward, and I will be honored to be a resource to assist her in any way she finds helpful. I believe Yahoo!'s best years are still ahead of it. For the past 14 years, I have poured all of my energies into this great company – and I hope to keep contributing to its success for many years to come,” Jerry Yang stated.