Yahoo has appointed Google executive Marissa Mayer as its chief executive, becoming the firm’s third boss in a year.
Mayer, 37, was Google’s 20th employee and first female engineer, has led a number of its businesses, and was credited for envisioning the clean, simple Google search interface still in use today.
In a statement released by Yahoo, Mayer said she was “honoured and delighted” to lead the company.
Mayer edged out front-runner and acting CEO Ross Levinsohn to become Yahoo’s third CEO in a year. She hopes to stem losses to Google and Facebook – which her high-profile predecessors failed to do.
In May CEO Scott Thompson stepped down after accusations that he put a fake computer degree on his CV. In September 2011, CEO Carol Bartz was fired after two-and-a-half years in the post.
Mayer also revealed on Twitter that she is pregnant with her first child, a boy. She told Fortune magazine that the baby is due on 7 October and she expects her maternity leave will only be a few weeks long.
But Mayer’s ascension comes as her profile at Google appeared to have diminished in recent months.
Earlier this week, Yahoo! shareholders have narrowly voted in favour of the group’s remuneration plan, an SEC filing revealed. What the FT called ‘an embarrassing censure’ was avoided when shareholders holding 415m votes opposed the plan, while 417m votes were in favour.
