 Bartz to chart a new course for Yahoo
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-15 07:59 Yahoo! Inc named Carol Bartz as chief executive officer after a two-month search, looking to the former head of Autodesk Inc for new direction in its fight with Google Inc. Bartz, takes over immediately, Yahoo said yesterday in a statement. President Susan Decker, who had been considered for the job, will leave the company after a transitional period. Jerry Yang, who co-founded Yahoo in 1994, agreed in November to step down as head of the company.
Bartz, CEO of Autodesk from 1992 to 2006, faces the challenge of reviving Yahoo's growth after the company spurned a $47.5 billion takeover attempt by Microsoft Corp last year. She also has to learn a new business - Internet advertising - a switch from the design software sold by Autodesk. Yahoo ranks second to Google in Internet searches and online ads. "She was an inoffensive, but largely unexciting candidate - someone who would be a steady hand at the wheel - but investors were hoping for a lot more than that," said Jeff Lindsay, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in New York. "She's undoubtedly a competent and able executive. The problem is, is she the right fit for the job?" The Yahoo board had been informally discussing three leading candidates over the past few weeks, a person familiar with the matter said. Bartz met with director Carl Icahn in New York before Christmas, the person said. In recent days, Bartz emerged as the favorite candidate, and the board began to negotiate hiring terms, including salary. The board met today to vote on those terms, the person said. "She is the exact combination of seasoned technology executive and savvy leader that the board was looking for," Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock said in the statement. The reaction from investors suggests they don't expect Yahoo to get a new acquisition offer from Microsoft, said Youssef Squali, an analyst with Jefferies & Co in New York. Microsoft, which had offered as much as $33 a share last year, walked away from talks after Yahoo demanded more. The two sides later failed to agree on a deal to sell Yahoo's search business alone to Microsoft. "There was basically hope and anticipation that maybe Microsoft would come back," Squali said. The CEO announcement signals that "maybe the board has decided to go it alone after all". Bartz will need six to 12 months to get fully up to speed on her new job, and a deal to sell the search business couldn't be hammered out until then, he said. One of the most prominent women in Silicon Valley, Bartz has also served as an executive at Sun Microsystems Inc, Digital Equipment Corp and 3M Co. Agencies (China Daily 01/15/2009 page16) |
