Yahoo! Hires Google Executive Marissa Mayer As New Ceo

[News_Editor]

Yahoo! hires Google executive Marissa Mayer as new CEO < br />

2012-07-18 03:20:18 GMT+7 (ICT)

SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA (BNO NEWS) -- Internet giant Yahoo!, Inc. on Monday announced the appointment of Google executive Marissa Mayer as its President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), two months after Scott Thompson resigned over an apparent misrepresentation of his college credentials.

"I am honored and delighted to lead Yahoo!, one of the internet's premier destinations for more than 700 million users," said Mayer. "I look forward to working with the Company's dedicated employees to bring innovative products, content, and personalized experiences to users and advertisers all around the world."

Mayer, 37, began her work at Yahoo! on Tuesday and is the company's fifth CEO in five years. The media company, which is based in Sunnyvale, California, has struggled against Internet powerhouses such as Google and Facebook. Mayer was also appointed as a Member of the Board of Director's at Yahoo!.

Yahoo! spokeswoman Dana Lengkeek stated that the appointment signals a renewed focus on product innovation to drive user experience and advertising revenue for the company, which has 700 million unique monthly visitors and whose leading properties include Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! Mobile, Yahoo! Mail, and Yahoo! Search.

Mayer joined Google in 1999 as its 20th employee and led efforts for many of Google's most recognizable products, including the development of its flagship search product and iconic homepage for over 10 years. Most recently, she was responsible for Local, Maps, and Location Services for Google, the company's suite of local and geographical products including Google Maps, Google Earth, Zagat, Street View, and local search, for desktop and mobile.

Mayer also serves on the board of directors of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and a number of non-profits, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Ballet, and the New York City Ballet.

Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson resigned in May after a dissident shareholder called attention to his apparent misrepresentation of his college credentials. An eBay biography and Yahoo! filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission claimed that Thompson has a computer science degree from Stonehill College in Massachusetts, but the school did not offer this until four years after Thompson graduated.

Thompson only assumed the top position at Yahoo! in January of this year and soon announced his plans to cut 2,000 jobs, or about 14 percent of the company's global workforce. The dramatic job cuts are expected to save Yahoo! about $375 million a year, although severance pay will cost the company between $125 million and $145 million this year.

The job cuts announced in April were the largest yet for the struggling company, which has failed to keep up with social media giant Facebook and internet rival Google. Former CEO Carol Bartz was fired in September 2011 as he was unable to increase Yahoo!'s revenue, despite some 4,000 jobs being cut in the last four years.

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