WEB MARKET

Yahoo Search Ends with Carol Bartz Coming as CEO

Web major Yahoo has taken Carol Bartz, who was executive chairman of Autodesk, as its CEO and a member of the Board of Directors. In November last year Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang had decided to quit and resume his role as Chief Yahoo and a Board Member. 

Prior to becoming executive chairman of Autodesk in 2006, Bartz, 60, led Autodesk as CEO for 14 years. She is known for transforming Autodesk, a computer-aided design software company, into a leading tech player in the market. During her tenure as CEO, Autodesk’s revenues increased from less than $300 million to over $1.5 billion, and the company's share price increased nearly ten-fold.  

Yahoo would expect her to repeat her performance for it, as the company has been struggling on almost all fronts including its core search business, which is dominated by Google. Plus, Bartz would need to take some quick decisions on the now-abandoned deal that Microsoft had proposed last year. 

In addition to turning around Autodesk, Bartz has worked for other leading tech companies such as Sun Microsystems, Digital Equipment Corporation, and 3M.  

The immediate challenge before her will be to learn and master the tricks of the web trade, which is different from the business of offline, desk-based software products that Autodesk is making. 

“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," believes Bartz. 

She holds a bachelors degree in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin.

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