Then in May, Bartz was criticized for an embarrassing spat between Yahoo and Alibaba Group, the company which has managed Yahoo's brand and services in China since 2005.

Yahoo, which holds a 43 percent stake in the company worth $2.32 billion as of March 31, 2011, said it was caught by surprise when it found out that Alibaba Group had spun off its Alipay online payment unit to a Chinese company controlled by Alibaba CEO Jack Ma.

But Alibaba Group officials contradicted Yahoo, saying Bartz and other officials were fully aware of Alibaba Group's plan to divest itself of Alipay in order to comply with new Chinese regulations.

The companies later agreed to stop the public bickering and engage in closed negotiations over what Yahoo and other investors considered fair compensation for the loss of value related to Alipay's divestiture.

An agreement was eventually reached in late July, but the episode made many investors, financial analysts and industry observers cringe, and it reflected badly on Bartz.