On July 16, 2012, Marissa Mayer was appointed President and CEO of Yahoo!, effective the following day. That’s enough to call her a true Leader in Heels but that’s not the only achievement she has accomplished during her impressive career .Mayer was named to Fortune magazine’s annual list of America’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 including when at age 33 she was the youngest woman ever included on the list. She has been honored with the Matrix Award by the New York Women in Communications, as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and as “Woman of the Year” by Glamour magazine. How did she make it?
Her way to the CEO position was a result of hard work and determination.
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Mayer graduated with honors from Stanford University with a B.S. in symbolic systems and an M.S. in Computer Science. For both degrees, she specialized in artificial intelligence. In 2009, the Illinois Institute of Technology granted Mayer an honoris causa doctorate degree in recognition of her work in the field of search.
Mayer joined Google in 1999 as employee number 20 and was the company’s first female engineer. During her 13 years with the company, she was an engineer, designer, product manager, and executive. Her contributions included overseeing the look-and-feel of the company’s iconic homepage and founding the Associate Product Manager program, which has hired over 300 of the company’s future leaders and is considered the industry’s ideal standard in transforming new computer science graduates into executive leaders. In her final years with Google, she was Vice President of Local, Maps, and Location Services and, before that, Vice President of Search Products and User Experience.
Newly appointed President and CEO of Yahoo! said, “I am honoured and delighted to lead Yahoo!, one of the internet’s premier destinations for more than 700 million users. I look forward to working with the Company’s dedicated employees to bring innovative products, content, and personalized experiences to users and advertisers all around the world.”
Yahoo! Co-Founder David Filo said, “Marissa is a well-known, visionary leader in user experience and product design and one of Silicon Valley’s most exciting strategists in technology development. I look forward to working with her to enhance Yahoo’s product offerings for our over 700 million unique monthly visitors.”
The success doesn’t stop with her professional life, either. Mayer got married in 2009 to San Francisco investor and philanthropist Zachary Bogue. On 16th July Mayer announced on Twitter she and Bogue are expecting their first child, a boy, in October. According to All Things D, Mayer’s pregnancy was not an issue to the Yahoo!’s board. Yahoo’s decision reflects a change in a business environment once inhospitable to mothers and women expecting children.
Even though the baby boy is due in three months it doesn’t stop passionate Mayer to grow professionally. “Yahoo!’s products will continue to enhance our partnerships with advertisers, technology and media companies, while inspiring and delighting our users. There is a lot to do and I can’t wait to get started,” Mayer said
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