Yahoo chief Carol Bartz sacked

Yahoo Inc CEO Carol Bartz was yesterday sacked over the phone by chairman Roy Bostock, ending her tumultuous tenure at Yahoo, marked by stagnation and a rift with Chinese partner Alibaba.

Her sacking may also be a prelude to the search engine putting itself up for sale.

Chief financial officier Tim Morse will take over as interim CEO as the company scouts for a permanent leader to take on the likes of Google Inc and Facebook for online content and advertising stakes.

Bartz came to Yahoo after a stint as chief executive of design software maker Autodesk, amid hopes of turning around the company and competing with up-and-coming rivals.

Her efforts however came to an abrupt end after Bostock called with the bad news.

According to Reuters which obtained Bartz's email to employees, she wrote, "I am very sad to tell you that I've just been fired over the phone by Yahoo's Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward."