Google's Mayer tapped to head Yahoo

Marissa Mayer, one of Google's top executives, has been tapped to lead Yahoo as the company's next CEO and president.

Mayer was the first female engineer the search company hired and has been credited with designing the look of Google's iconic homepage, Gmail email service and some of its other popular consumer products. Most recently, Mayer served as Google's vice president of location and local services and has often represented the search company at high-profile events.

The hire is viewed as a victory for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo, which has struggled in recent years to compete with fellow Silicon Valley competitors Google and Facebook. The company suffered a public image hit when its most recent chief executive, Scott Thompson, resigned this spring after it was discovered he padded the academics section of his resume.

The New York Times first reported the news of Mayer's hire. Mayer resigned from Google on Monday by telephone and will start at Yahoo on Tuesday, the Times reported.

This story was updated at 12:43 a.m. to correct that Mayer was the first female engineer Google hired.

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