Ex-Google exec Marissa Mayer to take helm at Yahoo

In a surprising turn of events it was announced on Monday that long-time Google executive Marissa Mayer tendered her resignation and will start at her new position as president and CEO at Yahoo on Tuesday.

The former executive's departure not only marks a devastating loss for Google but an uncommon win for Yahoo, a company that has had trouble attracting and retaining top talent in recent years.

Mayer, who started with the internet search giant as employee No. 20, was an integral part of Google's success and played a large role in creating the site's search homepage, Gmail, Google News and Google Images, reports The New York Times. The former high-ranking executive was also responsible for Google Maps, was in charge of more than 1,000 product managers and sat on Google's operating committee.

Hired as Google's first female engineer 13 years ago, Mayer has been highly visible in the public arena as she was often tapped to give keynote presentations and be the face of the company in a variety of magazine articles. Despite her impressive credentials progress up the corporate ladder at Mountain View appeared uncertain following her last promotion to vice president of local services.

While Mayer said she “had an amazing time at Google," the new Yahoo chief noted that "it was a reasonably easy decision” to make the move. She went on to say that Yahoo is “one of the best brands on the Internet." The newly-minted CEO was approached about the position in June.

As head of Yahoo, Mayer said she plans to leverage the company’s e-mail, finance and sports brands as well as push its presence in the video broadband and mobile sectors.

Mayer will be taking the place of Scott Thompson who resigned after four months on the job when the legitimacy of his college degree was called into question. Yahoo's leadership has been in flux since Carol Bartz took over for company co-founder Jerry Yang in 2009 only to be ousted in 2011. Yang regained the title of "Chief Yahoo" but resigned in January to pursue other interests.