Yahoo Chooses Bartz for CEO

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 13 -- Yahoo 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 ends Yahoo's two-month search to replace co-founder Jerry Yang, who surrendered the chief executive reins after potentially lucrative deals with rivals Microsoft and Google collapsed.

After describing herself as a straight shooter, Bartz told analysts in a conference call that she intended to ensure that Yahoo gets "some friggin' breathing room" so she can position the company to "kick some butt."

"I wouldn't have taken the job if I didn't believe there was a huge opportunity here," Bartz said just minutes before rushing 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 rebuffed several previous overtures, including a $47.5 billion offer to buy Yahoo last year.

Microsoft subsequently withdrew that bid, valued at $33 per share, and now Yahoo's stock price hovers around $12.

After a tepid early reaction, investors seemed to warm up to Bartz's appointment. Yahoo shares fell 12 cents yesterday to close at $12.10, then gained 44 cents, or 3.6 percent, in extended trading.

Yahoo's president, Susan Decker, who also was a candidate for the job, plans to resign after a transitional period.

Bartz spent nearly 17 years at Autodesk, which specializes in making design software for architects and engineers. She was the San Rafael, Calif.-based company's chief executive from 1992 until 2006, when she stepped aside to become executive chairman.

While Bartz was chief executive, Autodesk's annual revenue ballooned from nearly $300 million to $1.5 billion. Perhaps more importantly to Yahoo's long-suffering shareholders, Autodesk's stock price rose by an annual average of nearly 20 percent.

Bartz spent nine years at Sun Microsystems, where she became the No. 2 executive behind the server maker's then-chief executive, Scott McNealy.

Despite Bartz's résumé, she may face questions about whether she is a good fit because she lacks any background in advertising -- the primary source of Yahoo's income.

"I suspect I have the brainpower to understand media," she said.

Yahoo also is far larger than Autodesk, with annual revenue of more than $7 billion and roughly 13,000 employees, nearly twice the size of Autodesk's workforce.

In her corporate life, Bartz talks more like a sailor, said Nilofer Merchant, a former Autodesk manager who is chief executive of technology consultant Rubicon. Merchant recalls Bartz starting days with profanity-laced phone calls demanding to know why a sale hadn't been closed.

Bartz also will have to co-exist with Yang, who will revert to his titular role of "chief Yahoo" while remaining on the company's board.