Yahoo Inc. has selected Carol Bartz, most recently executive chairman of Autodesk, to serve as its CEO, and as a member of its board of directors. The appointment is effective immediately.
Bartz replaces former Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang who with David Filo co-founded the company in 1994. Yang had served as CEO from June 2007 through Bartz’s appointment.
Additionally, Yahoo announced that president Sue Decker will resign after remaining with the company for a transitional period.
Prior to becoming Executive Chairman of Autodesk in 2006, Bartz led Autodesk as CEO for 14 years, where she had responsibility for leading global operations, engineering, sales and marketing organizations for large technology and engineering companies including Sun Microsystems, Digital Equipment Corporation and 3M.
“[Bartz] is admired in [Silicon Valley] as well as on Wall Street for her deep management expertise, strong customer orientation, excellent people skills, and firm understanding of the challenges facing our industry,” said Roy Bostock, Yahoo’s chairman of the board, in a statement.
Bostock continued, “Carol meets all of the criteria we set for the search and is the only person to whom we offered the job. The Board is united in its view that her energetic and decisive leadership style, coupled with a proven track record of driving growth, operational excellence and shareholder value, is exactly what Yahoo! needs to get back on a path toward achieving its full potential.
“On behalf of the entire board, I would like to thank Jerry Yang for acceding to our request 18 months ago to step into the CEO role. Jerry’s unwavering enthusiasm for Yahoo, his unique perspective on the company, and iconic stature in the industry make him an invaluable resource for the future. We are delighted that he plans to stay actively involved and are deeply grateful for his many contributions to the company’s development over the years.”
Jerry Yang said, “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,” said Yang in a statement. “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.”
