The board let Bartz go after losing confidence in her ability to turn the embattled company around, while Thompson, a former PayPal president, left in the midst of a controversy about his college education credentials.

In between Thompson's departure and Mayer's appointment, Yahoo was led by interim CEO Ross Levinsohn, a Yahoo executive vice president and head of Global Media. He left shortly after Mayer's arrival.

Yahoo has been on a years-long financial and technology slump, going through several executive shake-ups and rounds of layoffs.

The IDG News Service