Former Autodesk executive chairman Carol Bartz, 60 has been appointed the new Yahoo CEO, after founder Jerry Yang stepped down under shareholder pressure after turning down software giant Microsoft's meger overtures.

Bartz, a veteran technology executive who was most recently executive chairman of Autodesk, has also been the vice-president of worldwide field operations at Sun Microsystems from 1983-1992 and  held product line and sales management positions at Digital Equipment and 3M and been a director on boards of Cisco Systems, Intel, NetApp.

Her appointment as CEO and a member of the board of directors, takes effect immediately.

Prior to becoming executive chairman of Autodesk in 2006, Bartz, 60, led Autodesk as CEO for 14 years, transforming the company into a leader in computer-aided design software. During her tenure as CEO, revenues increased from less than $300 million to more than $1.5 billion, and the company's share price increased nearly 10-fold.

In addition to turning around Autodesk, Bartz's extensive executive experience includes hands-on responsibility for leading global operations, engineering, sales and marketing organizations for large technology and engineering companies including Sun Microsystems, Digital Equipment Corporation and 3M.

"We are very exc"
ited to have Carol Bartz leading Yahoo! into its next era of growth. Roy Bostock, chairman of the board.  "She is the exact combination of seasoned technology executive and savvy leader that the Board was looking for, and we are thrilled to have attracted such a world-class talent to Yahoo!. She is admired in the Valley as well as on Wall Street for her deep management expertise, strong customer orientation, excellent people skills, and firm understanding of the challenges facing our industry. Carol meets all of the criteria we set for the search and is the only person to whom we offered the job. The Board is united in its view that her energetic and decisive leadership style, coupled with a proven track record of driving growth, operational excellence and shareholder value, is exactly what Yahoo! needs to get back on a path toward achieving its full potential."

Carol Bartz said, "Yahoo! is a powerful global brand with a great collection of assets, strong technology, and enormously talented employees. The Company has accomplished a great deal in its relatively short history and I look forward to working together to take it to the next level. 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."

Jerry Yang said, "I couldn't be more pleased with the board's choice of Carol Bartz as CEO and look forward to returning to my former role as Chief Yahoo. I believe Carol is the ideal person to take Yahoo! forward and I will be honored to be a resource to assist her in any way she finds helpful. I believe Yahoo!'s best years are still ahead of it. For the past 14 years, I have poured all of my energies into this great company -- and I hope to keep contributing to its success for many years to come."

Yahoo! also announced that President Sue Decker has informed the Board that she will resign after remaining with the Company for a transitional period. Bostock said, "The Board thanks Sue for her service as President, the important contributions she has made to Yahoo!'s development in a variety of roles over the past 8-1/2 years, and her willingness to work with Carol Bartz to ensure a smooth transition. We respect her decision to move on to other challenges and wish her only the best."

Carol Bartz has been the Lead Independent Director of Cisco Systems since 2005 and a director since 1996. She also currently serves on the Board of Directors of Intel Corporation and NetApp. She holds a bachelors degree in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin.