Carol Bartz is friggin' interesting
The Yahoo CEO offers candid views on life post-retirement — and dealing with activist shareholders
Bartz has no regrets about joining Yahoo. Photo: Yahoo
At Fortune's Most Powerful Women conference in Carlsbad, Calif., Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Carol Bartz didn't talk much tech but didn't disappoint.
In characteristically blunt language that was peppered with not-quite-explicit words like "friggin' " and "damn" (she declined to talk about the way she talks, telling interviewer Andy Serwer: "I don't think it's that interesting, personally") Bartz recalled her her nearly nine-month tenure at one of the Internet's pioneering brands.
She ticked off the questions her friends asked her when she made the decision to come out of retirement (she was CEO of Autodesk (ADSK) for 14 years) to take the helm at struggling Yahoo.
Why are you coming back? Why Yahoo? What are going to to do about Microsoft (MSFT) and search and what are you going to do about Carl? (Ichan had gained a board seat at Yahoo and had been agitating for change.) "My friends said, 'are you friggin' crazy?'"
She answered all four questions for the 300-plus women assembled at the Four Seasons Aviara.
Flunking retirement
On coming back, Bartz admits she was a failure as a retiree. She grew restless playing golf and vacationing in Hawaii. Cocktail hour moved from 6 p.m. to 4 p.m.
On taking on the Yahoo challenge: "I can actually do this and have fun." She acknowledges she wasn't prepared for the scrutiny the consumer-facing company receives, but she told the audience that accepting the post "was the best thing I've ever done other than having my daughter, who was 21 yesterday."
Carol and Steve and Carl
On search, Bartz elaborated on the deal she struck in July with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer  whereby the software giant will power Yahoo search, and Yahoo's sales force will manage relationships for both companies' premium search advertisers.
Bartz says Yahoo isn't ceding its ability to create a unique search experience for its customers. She maintains the company can enhance the search engine provided by Microsoft; it will free up Yahoo to do "what we do best, which is great content and great user experience."
As for Icahn, Bartz was diplomatic, perhaps surprisingly so. "He's a very smart man who has a dominant point of view on things," she says. "If you listen, really really listen, you can have a relationship.
"For a shareholder to come in and be that interested there is some inherent truth to why they're there. "
She did reveal that Icahn can be quite persistent. "That man can call about 12 times a day," she deadpanned. "He's totally capable (of that). "
Interesting? Sure. Successful? Yes. But does she have what it takes to run a company profitably in difficult times? Not looking like it so far. Yes, she was successful at Autodesk but now that we look back was it really that amazing what she did? It was one of the profitable building periods of our country so duh she should have been able to grow the largest CAD company in the world. Its what you can do during extermely challanged times that will dictate if you are legitimatelly a successful leader or not for a corporate. So for me, now she is not that interesting just lucky that she ran a big company during good times. Cruise said it best "show me the money". Do that and she can be regarded as legitimate. Do not do that at Yahoo and she was a comet that got lucky.
Well Stephanie,
Good "Short" article. Honestly…shorter is better. And rude language, even from (or maybe especially from) a CEO is not very interesting. Gosh…no doubt everyone is sooooo interested in how bored she was. Carol, if you're that bored and you really want to make a difference, try running a non-profit of some sort that actually "helps" people. You know some company with a great idea (about helping the disadvantaged in some fashion) that needs someone with your corporate experience. Especially since you didn't come out of retirement for the money…right?
BTW Stephanie…although beauty is not always an asset…what a beautiful picture you have up. Congrats on succeeding inspite of it.
Good article. We find out Icahn's success is that people say yes just to get rid of him. I think we would find that true of our business and government leaders in general and that says more about our current leadership and their motives than you can imagine.
Socal Tommy, Yahoo does help people – all over the world it helps people communicate and get information to one another about all sorts of things important to their lives, including charity. I do a lot of work for a non-profit organization based in Miami and London, and all of my communications with event partners and participants happens via Yahoo! Mail and Yahoo! groups. The Yahoo Employee Foundation donates millions of dollars every year to charitable organizations, based entirely on employee and founder contributions, and the company has a donation matching program on top of it. They work hands-on in the communities where they are located to rebuild houses, donate school supplies to needy children, and participate in environmental clean-up programs. Implying the company does nothing to help people less fortunate is simply ridiculous.
How can anyone judge in 9 short months what Carol Bartz has been able to do for Yahoo? Common sense should tell you it takes time to see the effects of changes to such a large company. But if you want an example, look at how much better their mobile presence is compared to 9 months ago. There has been a mess brewing under the hood for quite some time, and exactly why she came out of retirement to fix things is her own business. The fact is she won't be ignored or pushed aside, which is exactly what Yahoo! needs to right it's image and business plans, and speaking of images, Socal Tommy are you 14? Beauty will not get anyone as far as brains in the tech industry. Carol Bartz has a degree in Computer Science – you might want to do a little research before you make snarky comments about why she's leading a billion dollar company.