In January 2009, 61-year-old Carol Bartz took over as Yahoo CEO from Yang Zhiyuan, a Chinese-American executive, at a critical moment. The Yahoo Board of Directors hoped she could lead the struggling company out of its difficulties.
At the time, the cover story of the renowned American financial magazine Barron's described Bartz as Yahoo's "last and best hope."
As an experienced executive, Bartz had been repeatedly named one of the most influential businesswomen in the world by Fortune and Forbes magazines.
Within four months of taking office, Bartz implemented sweeping reforms. She restructured the organization, reshuffled the management team, cut several online service businesses deemed unrelated to Yahoo's revival plan, and laid off more than a thousand employees. Following a series of cost-cutting measures, although Yahoo's total revenue dipped slightly in 2010, its net income doubled compared to the previous year, reaching $1.24 billion.