Yahoo names Bartz as CEO

By Michael Liedtke, Associated Press

Published January 14, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

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SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo Inc. named technology veteran Carol Bartz as its new chief executive Tuesday, bringing in a no-nonsense leader known for developing a clear focus - something that has eluded the struggling Internet company during a three-year slump.

The decision to lure Bartz, 60, from software maker Autodesk Inc. ends Yahoo's two-month search to replace co-founder Jerry Yang, who surrendered the CEO reins after potentially lucrative deals with rivals Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. collapsed.

After describing herself as a straight shooter, Bartz told analysts in a conference call that she intended to ensure Yahoo gets "some friggin' breathing room" so the company can "kick some butt." She said it would be presumptuous to share her vision for Yahoo on her first day on the job.

"I wouldn't have taken the job if I didn't believe there was a huge opportunity here," Bartz said before she had to hustle off to her first meeting with Yahoo's top managers.

Bartz's appointment could set the stage for Microsoft to renew its efforts to buy Yahoo's Internet search operations as a way of mounting a more serious threat to Google, the market leader.

Microsoft had been reluctant to deal with Yang because he had rebuffed several previous overtures.

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