Yahoo has announced Carol Bartz, 60, to succeed Jerry Yang as the CEO of Yahoo. Bartz is a respected tech veteran who served in Autodesk as the CEO from 1992-2006. Autodesk is a software company which grew from $300 million to $1.5 billion during her 14 years of service. Autodesk’s stock price during that tenure grew ten-folds. She also comes with past experience as an executive at other major tech companies such as Digital Equipment Corp, Sun Microsystems, and currently serves on the board of Cisco Systems and Intel Corp.
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Is Yahoo Editing Your Search Marketing Campaigns?

Did you know Yahoo has permission to change your search marketing campaigns then notify you after the fact? How do we know this? It says right in the Terms and Conditions. Didn’t see it? They did a recent update.

SPONSORED SEARCH and CONTENT MATCH® PROGRAM TERMS
3. OPTIMIZATION. In the U.S. only, for those advertisers not bound by an Insertion Order, we may help you optimize your account(s). Accordingly, you expressly agree that we may also: (i) create ads, (ii) add and/or remove keywords, and/or (iii) optimize your account(s). We will notify you via email of such changes made to your account(s), and can also include a spreadsheet of such changes upon your written request. If you would like any of such changes reversed, please reply to such email within 14 days of the change(s), and we will make commercially reasonable efforts to reverse the change(s) you specifically identify. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you remain responsible for all changes made to your account(s), including all click charges incurred prior to any reversions being made. It is your responsibility to monitor your account(s) and to ensure that your account settings are consistent with your business objectives.

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Word on the online world is that Sean Suchter, Yahoo’s top search engineer has left Yahoo the day after Jerry Yang stepped down as CEO. Yang was well known for his dedication to Web Search with his strong, perhaps stubborn efforts to grow this sector of Yahoo’s business including the rejection of Microsoft’s bids.

The tipster who gave this information to valleywag.com, states

“Today is the end of Yahoo Search. Sean Suchter just left for Microsoft. Everyone in the office is shocked. I’ve been on the Yahoo Search team for a while and he is the one key executive that it all depends on. If Microsoft has convinced him to leave and join them, they won’t need to buy Yahoo Search. We will just all join Microsoft anyway. I am definitely going to send him my resume.”

Suchter apparently commanded a lot of loyalty and respect from the Yahoo search group. Yahoo has already lost a search executive, Qi Lu, to Microsoft. Will there be more to come? Could Microsoft end up hiring it’s way into Yahoo’s search business?
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Yahoo’s cofounder Jerry Yang will step down as CEO and return to his former role as Chief Yahoo. Yahoo Board of Directors has initiated a search for a replacement. Jerry will transition as soon as they appoint a successor.

Yang, 40, has been the CEO since June 2007 when the Board of Director requested that he take the lead role. He has led Yahoo through a strategic repositioning and transformation of its platform. However Yahoo has struggled this year with plummeting stock value starting with the rejection of Microsoft’s attempt to acquire Yahoo. Recently the Yahoo Google deal also fell through.
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Google and Yahoo has abandoned their efforts to overcome the objections of the antitrust regulators who have hindered it’s progress because they believe it would give Google too much power over online advertising.

This was announced today [Wed Nov 5]. This could be seen as another hit for Yahoo is currently at $14.02 a share. Yahoo had previously hoped that this deal would give a $800 million boost to it’s revenue line. It was a reaction deal to the shareholders anger over management’s decision to forego the $47.5 billion takeover deal by Microsoft.

Google had previously announced that this deal would have been great for the online world. However Google is not expected to take much of a hit because of it’s dominant hold on search marketing.

“We’re of course disappointed that this deal won’t be moving ahead,” David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer, wrote on a company blog. “But we’re not going to let the prospect of a lengthy legal battle distract us from our core mission. That would be like trying to drive down the road of innovation with the parking brake on.”
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