Yahoo finance chief departs in reshuffle

Yahoo, the internet company beset by a raft of executive departures, on Thursday announced a new management structure under Carol Bartz, its recently appointed chief executive.

The much-anticipated news came as Yahoo also revealed Blake Jorgensen, its chief financial officer, would be the latest member of top management to leave.

Ms Bartz, who took over from Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang six weeks ago, took a similar approach of clearing out executives and reorganising at her previous company – software maker Autodesk. However, there had already been a heavy bleeding of executive talent from Yahoo under Mr Yang.

In her first entry on the corporate blog, Ms Bartz explained the need for change: “There’s ... plenty that has bogged this company down. For starters, you would be amazed at how complicated some things are here,” she said.

“So today I’m rolling out a new management structure that I believe will make Yahoo a lot faster on its feet.”

Yahoo’s “notorious silos” were gone, she said, without giving details. A Yahoo spokesperson later explained the company’s Tech and Products groups were being combined in a single Products division run by Ari Balogh, chief technology officer. Yahoo would also be organised under two regions – North America and International, compared to four in the past.

Yahoo has often been criticised for slowness in its execution and taking decisions. Allen Weiner, analyst at the Gartner research firm, said the changes should mean a more efficient operation.

“There will be people in mobile and product development who report directly to Carol whose butts will be on the line. The level of accountability is going to be significant,” Mr Weiner said.

In a separate regulatory filing, Yahoo said Mr Jorgensen would be leaving the company and a search for a chief financial officer had been initiated.

Mr Jorgensen joined Yahoo from Thomas Weisel Partners in June 2007 and was close to Sue Decker, Yahoo’s president.

Ms Decker had been the top internal candidate for the chief executive job, but the company announced at the time of Ms Bartz’s appointment that she would be leaving Yahoo.

Yahoo shares rose 50 cents or 4 per cent to close at $12.98 in New York on news of the reorganisation.

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