Yahoo! has removed CEO Carol Bartz and appointed Timothy Morse interim CEO, with immediate effect. The company also named key senior Yahoo! executives to a newly formed Executive Leadership Council tasked with supporting Morse in managing the company's day-to-day operations until a permanent chief executive is appointed, as well as supporting a comprehensive strategic review initiated to position the company for future growth. Yahoo! board chairman Roy Bostock said the company's primary objective is to leverage its business assets and platforms in order to capitalise on its "enormous" growth opportunities. In addition to Morse, who will also continue in his role as CFO, the Executive Leadership Council will included executive VP, general counsel and secretary Michael Callahan, executive VP and chief product officer Blake Irving, executive VP Americas Ross Levinsohn, senior VP & MD EMEA Region Rich Riley, and senior VP APAC Region Rose Tsou. Yahoo! co-founders David Filo and Jerry Yang will each continue as chief Yahoo and provide counsel. The company has begun its search for a permanent CEO.
