SAN FRANCISCO — She may not have experience running an Internet company, but new Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Carol Bartz says her hard-driving, no-nonsense management style is just what the battered giant needs to revive itself.
Yahoo ended a two-month search Tuesday by hiring Bartz, the 60-year-old former CEO of design-software maker Autodesk Inc. She replaced Jerry Yang, the mild-mannered company co-founder who stepped down after a stormy tenure in which he was criticized for his indecisive style and for bungling merger talks with Microsoft Corp.
On a conference call to introduce herself to Wall Street, Bartz, who is now the highest ranking woman in Silicon Valley, said she intended to buy Yahoo "some friggin' breathing room" so that she could position the company to "kick some butt."
She sees Yahoo "as a company with enormous assets that frankly could use a little management," she said.
Whether Bartz, a seasoned executive with a track record of turning around tech companies, has the right stuff to rescue the ailing Yahoo remains to be seen. Investors aren't convinced, sending the Sunnyvale, Calif., firm's shares down 12 cents Tuesday to $12.10.
"We are very confident she is exactly the right leader to get Yahoo back on track and help the company achieve its full potential," Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock said, adding that Bartz was the only person offered the job.
But analysts say Bartz will face daunting challenges in trying to boost the company's stock price and sharpen its strategic focus. Competition with rival Google Inc. is heating up, the economy continues to soften and Wall Street is calling for more aggressive action, including a corporate break-up or renewed talks with Microsoft Corp. for a search advertising deal.
And Bartz has no experience running a company such as Yahoo that makes money through advertising.
"I think the Wall Street reaction is going to be tepid," said Anthony Valencia, media analyst for TCW Group in Los Angeles. "This is going to be a 'show me' story."
Yang will remain in his titular but influential role as "chief Yahoo" and on the company's board. His No. 2, President Sue Decker, who was in contention for the CEO job, will leave the company.
Bartz said Tuesday she would not discuss Yahoo's strategic direction on her first day on the job because she wanted time to do "a deep dive into the business."
