Updated 2:00 p.m. ET, Tuesday, July 17
Top Google executive and longtime employee Marissa Mayer has resigned from the company to take on the role of CEO of Yahoo, The New York Times Dealbook first reported on Monday afternoon. Yahoo confirmed the appointment shortly after Dealbook broke the story.
“I am honored and delighted to lead Yahoo!, one of the internet’s premier destinations for more than 700 million users,” Mayer said in Yahoo’s official statement. “I look forward to working with the company’s dedicated employees to bring innovative products, content, and personalized experiences to users and advertisers all around the world.”
“I’m incredibly excited to start my new role at Yahoo! tomorrow,” Mayer tweeted as well, acknowledging that she will take control of the company on Tuesday.
“Since arriving at Google just over 13 years ago as employee #20, Marissa has been a tireless champion of our users,” said Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page in a statement provided to TPM. “She contributed to the development of our Search, Geo, and Local products as well as many other product areas. We will miss her talents at Google.”
Mayer, 37, a software engineer who was hired as Google’s twentieth employee in 1999, rose through the ranks to become one of the company’s most senior and influential leaders, first as vice president of search products and user experiences, then moving to VP of Google’s all important local, maps and location services division in October 2010, which was her role until her resignation from Google on Monday.
Mayer brought a sharp focus on visual design and user experience to Google’s products, and is famously precise, at one point having her team test over 40 shades of blue for Google’s toolbar before settling on the best one.
Mayer resigned from Google by phone, according to Dealbook, also telling the publication she was first approached to lead Yahoo in June, after she returned from a trip to China.
The move instantly caused Yahoo stock to surge in after-hours trading Monday. The Web company still has among the most-viewed homepages online (the fourth-most popular globally, according to third-party tracking firm Alexa), but has struggled in recent years to find a coherent business strategy to compete against the ascendant Google, Facebook, Twitter and other newer destination websites.
As Yahoo’s revenues, primarily ad-based, have fallen along with its stock price in recent years, the company’s leadership has also been a revolving door, with CEOs being hired and fired in rapid fashion: Mayer will be the fourth Yahoo CEO in as many years. Yahoo’s previous CEO, Scott Thompson, formerly President and Chief Technology Officer of PayPal, was ousted after just four months after a rebellious shareholder uncovered information indicating that Thompson had fabricated a credential on his resume (he said he received a bachelor’s degree in computer science, which he did not).
Thompson’s predecessor, Carol Bartz, was fired by the company’s board of directors in late 2011.
“The Board of Directors unanimously agreed that Marissa’s unparalleled track record in technology, design, and product execution makes her the right leader for Yahoo! at this time of enormous opportunity,” said Fred Amoroso, Chairman of the Board of Directors, in Yahoo’s official statement.
Mayer will focus on top-performing Yahoo products and services including “email, finance and sports,” according to Dealbook.
Yahoo is set to release its second quarter earnings on Tuesday, Mayer’s first day of work.
Late update: Mayer tweeted another bit of bombshell news late Monday: “Another piece of good news today – @zackbogue and I are expecting a new baby boy!”
The child would be the first for Mayer and her husband, Zachary Bogue, a startup investor and advisor. The couple married in late 2009.
Mayer told Fortune that her child is due October 7 and is “super-active” and said she could feel him moving around a lot. Mayer also said that none of Yahoo’s board of directors expressed reservations about her taking on the role with her first child on the way. That hasn’t stopped tech and business analysts from airing their concerns and questions about the move, though.
