Yahoo! Confirms Bartz as New CEO

Updated from 5:19 p.m. EST

Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) named former AutoDesk (ADSK Quote) chief executive Carol Bartz as its CEO to replace co-founder Jerry Yang.

The move ends a two-month CEO search for the Internet giant. Investors, however, shrugged off the appointment, with Yahoo!'s stock closing Tuesday down about 1% to $12.10 after an initial report in The Wall Street Journal.

Yahoo! has been steadily losing business to Google (GOOG Quote) in the Internet search and advertising, and Bartz, who has a solid management record, signals Yahoo!'s interest in pushing forward in the search arena.

The executive search began after it became clear that Yang and Microsoft (MSFT Quote) CEO Steve Ballmer were at odds in the merger discussions the two held last year.

Bartz "is the exact combination of seasoned technology executive and savvy leader that the board was looking for," said Yahoo! Chairman Roy Bostock.

Susan Decker, who also was a candidate for the CEO job and who has long been considered a potential leader for the company, informed Yahoo!'s board Tuesday that she will resign after a transitional period. Both Decker and Bartz are on Intel's (INTC Quote) board of directors.

Bartz's track record indicates she will move quickly to build upon Yahoo!'s strengths while doing her best to shed the weaknesses. She spent nearly 17 years at Autodesk, which specializes in making design software for architects and engineers. She was the San Rafael, Calif.-based company as CEO from 1992 until 2006, when she stepped aside to become executive chairman.

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