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Google's Marissa Mayer becomes new Yahoo CEO

In a major coup for the iconic web giant, top Google executive Marissa Mayer has been named the new CEO of Yahoo.

Seamus Byrne Editor, Australia & Asia
Seamus Byrne is CNET's Editor for Australia and Asia. At other times he'll be found messing with apps, watching TV, building LEGO, and rolling dice. Preferably all at the same time.
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Seamus Byrne

Yahoo made a dramatic announcement early this morning, poaching one of Google's most widely recognised senior executives, Marissa Mayer, to take over as CEO.

Marissa Mayer, the new CEO of Yahoo. (Credit: James Martin/CNET)

The much troubled giant of the internet has had a series of CEOs in recent years, who have done little to renew the company's focus and future. Yahoo had been expected to announce Ross Levinsohn as CEO, after a short period as acting CEO. With the announcement of Mayer, Yahoo has gained some serious Silicon Valley star power and a strong positive sentiment for what is to come.

Mayer was Google's 20th employee and its first female, joining the company back in 1999. While Mayer has no experience as a CEO (she started her career as a programmer), she has been a driving force behind Google's consumer products. She gave Google's search homepage its look and feel, along with other products, from Gmail to Google News. According to Yahoo, Mayer has been the force behind more than 100 Google product launches.

Mayer's presence at Yahoo is a powerful draw card for other internet talent, and signals exciting times at the company.

For the first time in a long time, it seems that Yahoo might have some positive stories and genuine direction to talk about in the year ahead.

More details on Marissa Mayer's appointment as Yahoo CEO can be found here.