San Francisco  - Struggling web pioneer Yahoo on Tuesday named Carol Bartz, former head of software company Autodesk, as its new chief executive.

The appointment follows a two-month search for a replacement for company founder Jerry Yang, who announced his resignation following a two-year stint as chief executive during which he failed to meet the challenge posed by Google's domination of internet searches and was widely blamed for botching merger talks with Microsoft that would have proved highly lucrative to many shareholders.

While Bartz, 60, does not have wide experience running a consumer- facing technology company, she does sit on the boards of major tech firms like Cisco and Intel. She served as chief executive of Autodesk from 1992-2006 and remains the company's executive chairman, and held executive positions at Sun Microsystems, Digital and 3M.

Yahoo directors are believed to have overlooked her lack of experience in internet and advertising-related ventures in favour of her record at Autodesk, where she increased revenues from 300 million dollars per year to 1.5 billion dollars during her 14 years at the helm. The appointment mimics the success of other hard-core tech executives like Mark Hurd, who turned around Hewlett Packard after arriving in 2005 from NCR Corporation, and Google's Eric Schmidt, whose previous experience was at the helm of software company Novell.

Bartz's appointment could help restart negotiations with Microsoft over a sale of Yahoo's search business. Microsoft executives have repeatedly asserted that they are no longer interested in resurrecting a buyout of Yahoo but are willing to discuss a more limited cooperation.

"We are very excited to have Carol Bartz leading Yahoo into its next era of growth," Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock said. "She is the exact combination of seasoned technology executive and savvy leader that the board was looking for, and we are thrilled to have attracted such a world-class talent to Yahoo."

"Yahoo is a powerful global brand with a great collection of assets, strong technology, and enormously talented employees," Bartz said. "There is no denying that Yahoo! has faced enormous challenges over the last year, but I believe there is now an extraordinary opportunity to create value for our shareholders and new possibilities for our customers, partners and employees."

Her appointment prompted the resignation of Yahoo President Sue Decker, who had also been in the running for the top job. (dpa)