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Yahoo! has chosen Carol Bartz, former executive chairman of Autodesk, to take over as CEO and serve as a member of the company’s board of directors.
Bartz replaces Jerry Yang, who stepped down from the post last year, returning to his role as chief Yahoo! He left behind a wake of criticism over his inability to close an advertising deal with Google and for his highly-publicized decision to turn down a buyout offer from Microsoft.
Carol Bartz is described as a ‘veteran technology executive’ and was, most recently, the executive chairman of software firm Autodesk, leading the company for fourteen years. During her tenure as CEO, revenues increased from less than $300 million to more than $1.5 billion.
With further experience leading global operations, engineering, sales and marketing organizations for technology companies such as Sun Microsystems, Digital Equipment Corporation and 3M, Bartz as been described by Roy Bostock, chairman of the board, as “the exact combination of seasoned technology executive and savvy leader that the Board was looking for…”
“Carol meets all of the criteria we set for the search and is the only person to whom we offered the job,” Bostock added.
Despite her impressive resume, many question her lack of experience with online businesses and in handling deals.
Yahoo! has also announced that president Sue Decker will resign after remaining with the company for a transitional period.
