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Carol Ann Bartz (born August 28, 1948)According to the State of Minnesota. Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002 is an American business executive, former president and CEO of the internet services company Yahoo!, and former chairman, president, and CEO at architectural and engineering design software company Autodesk.
Bartz was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree (2002) from New Jersey Institute of Technology, an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from William Woods University.
During her 14-year tenure as the company's CEO, Autodesk net revenue substantially increased, and annual revenue rose from $300 million to $1.5 billion, with the stock price rising an average of 20 percent annually.
Bartz served on several boards of directors, including those of Intel, Cisco Systems, Autodesk, BEA Systems, Network Appliance, and the Foundation for the National Medals of Science.Romell, Rick. "University of Wisconsin–Madison graduate brings tough style to Yahoo", Journal Sentinel (January 14, 2009). Additionally, she has been a member of the United States President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Ecorner: Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner (April 24, 2008).
In May 2009, Reuters reported that she had already "worked through an impressive checklist" at her new company, "upending the organizational structure, replacing executives and cutting costs, including 675 jobs, or 5 percent of the workforce." Analysts described her efforts as precisely what the company required; reporter Alexei Oreskovic observed:
For Yahoo's ranks, still shell-shocked from deep cuts in 2008 – including 1,600 axed jobs – the hope that Bartz brings is increasingly mixed with a dose of fear and uncertainty. Yet broad support remains for Bartz despite the tough talk, canceled holiday parties and forced vacations that have come to define her era.Oreskovic, Alexei. " Hope and fear mark Yahoo at crossroads." Reuters. May 5, 2009. (accessed May 6, 2009).
Staff became anxious over a fresh round of job layoffs and the removal of a number of Yahoo! sites. The situation was then "exacerbated by a growing sense of secrecy", for which Bartz has a notable reputation. A need to know agenda replaced the company's typically open internal access to information. Bartz was quoted as saying that she would "drop-kick to fucking Mars" employees who leak to the press. Oreskovic quoted a fearful anonymous insider: "We are all sort of wanting to believe in her because we really want to see Yahoo! turned around, but it still doesn't make it any less scary when you don't hear about what's coming up. Everything is on a need-to-know basis."
At her one-year mark at Yahoo in January 2010, Bartz gave herself a "B−" grade for the job done in 2009: "It was a little tougher internally than I think I had anticipated. I did move fast, but this is a big job." Others in the media, however, rated her job higher given the challenges she had to manage.
When Bartz was hired by Yahoo in early 2009, she was paid an annual base salary of $1 million. She was eligible for an annual 400% bonus and received 5,000,000 shares in addition to an equity grant of $18 million of stock (to compensate for the forfeiture of the value of equity grants and post-employment medical coverage from her previous employer). "Carol Bartz’s comp: $1M Salary, $4M Bonus, $18M Grant, 5M Options" Business Insider (2009). In 2010 Bartz was named "most overpaid" CEO by proxy voting firm Glass-Lewis when she received $47.2 million in compensation. "Yahoo!’s Carol Bartz Named ‘Most Overpaid’ CEO" Tom's Guide (2010).
On September 6, 2011, Bartz was removed from her position at Yahoo! (via phone call by Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock), and CFO Tim Morse was named as Interim CEO of the company. “Fuck,” Carol Bartz: A Brief History of Yahoo’s Ousted CEO and Bad Words, Foster Kamer, 08-09-2011, access date 27-03-2012 Bartz notes that Roy was physically 20 minutes away from her when she was fired, noting that "he didn't have the nerve to see her face to face" and later stated that the board "fucked me over". Bartz expressed her desire to remain on the Board of Directors. However, on September 9, 2011, Bartz resigned from the company's Board of Directors.
Bartz is an investor in Caliva, a cannabis-based business.
On balancing a career with family, Bartz says: "I have a belief that life isn't about balance, because balance is perfection ... Rather, it's about catching the ball before it hits the floor."Kharif, Olga. “To Autodesk – and Beyond?”, Business Week. (May 12, 2004).
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