Yahoo!
Which employer did Marissa Mayer work for from Jul 2012 to 2018?
Marissa Mayer Marissa Ann Mayer ( ; born May 30 , 1975 ) is an American businesswoman and investor . She is an information technology executive , and co-founder of Sunshine Contact . Mayer formerly served as the president and chief executive officer of Yahoo! , a position she held from July 2012 . It was announced in January 2017 that she would step down from the companys board upon the sale of Yahoo s operating business to Verizon Communications for $4.8 billion . She would not join the newly combined company , now called Verizon Media ( formerly Oath ) , and announced her resignation on June 13 , 2017 . She is a graduate of Stanford University and was a long-time executive , usability leader , and key spokeswoman for Google ( employee #20 ) . Early life . Mayer was born in Wausau , Wisconsin , the daughter of Margaret Mayer , an art teacher of Finnish descent , and Michael Mayer , an environmental engineer who worked for water companies . Her grandfather , Clem Mayer , had polio when he was 7 and served as mayor of Jackson , Wisconsin , for 32 years . She has a younger brother . She would later describe herself as having been painfully shy as a child and teenager . She never had fewer than one after-school activity per day , participating in ballet , ice-skating , piano , swimming , debate , and Brownies . During middle school and high school , she took piano and ballet lessons , the latter of which taught her criticism and discipline , poise , and confidence . At an early age , she showed an interest in math and science . Education . Wausau West High School . When she was attending Wausau West High School , Mayer was on the curling team and the precision dance team . She excelled in chemistry , calculus , biology , and physics . She took part in extracurricular activities , becoming president of her high schools Spanish club , treasurer of the Key Club , captain of the debate team , and captain of the pom-pom squad . Her high school debate team won the Wisconsin state championship and the pom-pom squad was the state runner-up . During high school , she worked as a grocery clerk . After graduating from high school in 1993 , Mayer was selected by Tommy Thompson , then the Governor of Wisconsin , as one of the states two delegates to attend the National Youth Science Camp in West Virginia . Stanford University . Intending to become a pediatric neurosurgeon , Mayer took pre-med classes at Stanford University . She later switched her major from pediatric neuroscience to symbolic systems , a major which combined philosophy , cognitive psychology , linguistics , and computer science . At Stanford , she danced in the university ballets Nutcracker , was a member of parliamentary debate , volunteered at childrens hospitals , and helped bring computer science education to Bermudas schools . During her junior year , she taught a class in symbolic systems , with Eric S . Roberts as her supervisor . The class was so well received by students that Roberts asked Mayer to teach another class over the summer . Mayer went on to graduate with honors from Stanford with a BS in symbolic systems in 1997 and an MS in computer science in 1999 . For both degrees , her specialization was in artificial intelligence . For her undergraduate thesis , she built travel-recommendation software that advised users in natural-sounding human language . Illinois Institute of Technology . In 2009 , the Illinois Institute of Technology granted Mayer an honoris causa doctorate degree in recognition of her work in the field of search . Mayer interned at SRI International in Menlo Park , California , and Ubilab , UBSs research lab based in Zurich , Switzerland . She holds several patents in artificial intelligence and interface design . Career . Google ( 1999–2012 ) . After graduating from Stanford , Mayer received 14 job offers , including a teaching job at Carnegie Mellon University and a consulting job at McKinsey & Company . She joined Google in 1999 as employee number 20 . She started out writing code and overseeing small teams of engineers , developing and designing Googles search offerings . She became known for her attention to detail , which helped land her a promotion to product manager , and later she became director of consumer web products . She oversaw the layout of Googles well-known , unadorned search homepage . She was also on the three-person team responsible for Google AdWords , which is an advertising platform that allows businesses to show their product to relevant potential customers based on their search terms . AdWords helped deliver 96% of the companys revenue in the first quarter of 2011 . In 2002 , Mayer started the Associate Product Manager ( APM ) program , a Google mentorship initiative to recruit new talents and cultivate them for leadership roles . Each year , Mayer selected a number of junior employees for the two-year program , where they took on extracurricular assignments and intensive evening classes . Notable graduates of the program include Bret Taylor and Justin Rosenstein . In 2005 , Mayer became Vice President of Search Products and User Experience . Mayer held key roles in Google Search , Google Images , Google News , Google Maps , Google Books , Google Product Search , Google Toolbar , iGoogle , and Gmail . Mayer was the vice president of Google Search Products and User Experience until the end of 2010 , when she was asked by then-CEO Eric Schmidt to head the Local , Maps , and Location Services . In 2011 , she secured Googles acquisition of survey site Zagat for $125 million . While Mayer was working at Google , she taught introductory computer programming at Stanford and mentored students at the East Palo Alto Charter School . She was awarded the Centennial Teaching Award and the Forsythe Award from Stanford . Yahoo ! ( 2012–2017 ) . On July 16 , 2012 , Mayer was appointed president and CEO of Yahoo! , effective the following day . She was also a member of the companys board of directors . At the time of her appointment , Yahoos numbers had been falling behind those of Google for over a year and the company had been through several top management changes . To simplify the bureaucratic process and make the culture the best version of itself , Mayer launched a new online program called PB&J . It collects employee complaints , as well as their votes on problems in the office ; if a problem generates at least 50 votes , online management automatically investigates the matter . In February 2013 , Mayer oversaw a major personnel policy change at Yahoo ! that required all remote-working employees to convert to in-office roles . Having worked from home toward the end of her pregnancy , Mayer returned to work after giving birth to a boy , and built a mothers room next to her office suite—Mayer was consequently criticized for the telecommuting ban . In April 2013 , Mayer changed Yahoo s maternity leave policy , lengthening its time allowance and providing a cash bonus to parents . CNN noted this was in line with other Silicon Valley companies , such as Facebook and Google . Mayer has been criticized for many of her management decisions in pieces by The New York Times and The New Yorker . On May 20 , 2013 , Mayer led Yahoo ! to acquire Tumblr in a $1.1 billion acquisition . In February 2016 , Yahoo ! acknowledged that the value of Tumblr had fallen by $230 million since it was acquired . In July 2013 , Yahoo ! reported a fall in revenues , but a rise in profits compared with the same period in the previous year . Reaction on Wall Street was muted , with shares falling 1.7% . In September 2013 , it was reported that the stock price of Yahoo ! had doubled over the 14 months since Mayers appointment . However , much of this growth may be attributed to Yahoo s stake in the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group , which was acquired before Mayers tenure . In November 2013 , Mayer instituted a performance review system based on a bell curve ranking of employees , suggesting that managers rank their employees on a bell curve , with those at the low end being fired . Employees complained that some managers were viewing the process as mandatory . In February 2016 , a former Yahoo ! employee filed a lawsuit against the company claiming that Yahoos firing practices have violated both California and federal labor laws . In 2014 , Mayer was ranked sixth on Fortunes 40 under 40 list , and was ranked the 16th most-powerful businesswoman in the world that year according to the same publication . In March 2016 Fortune would name Mayer as one of the worlds most disappointing leaders . Yahoo ! stocks continued to fall by more than 30% throughout 2015 , while 12 key executives left the company . In December 2015 , the New York-based hedge fund SpringOwl , a shareholder in Yahoo Inc. , released a statement arguing that Mayer be replaced as CEO . Starboard Value , an activist investing firm that owns a stake in Yahoo , likewise wrote a scathing letter regarding Mayers performance at Yahoo . By January 2016 , it was further estimated that Yahoo s core business has been worth less than zero dollars for the past few quarters . In February 2016 , Mayer confirmed that Yahoo ! was considering the possibility of selling its core business . In March 2017 , it was reported that Mayer could receive a $23 million termination package upon the sale of Yahoo ! to Verizon . Mayer announced her resignation on June 13 , 2017 . In spite of large losses in advertising revenue at Yahoo ! and a 50% reduction in staff during her 5 years as CEO , Mayer was paid a total of $239 million over that time , mainly in stock and stock options . On the day of her resignation , Mayer publicly highlighted many of the companys achievements during her tenure , including : creating $43B in market capitalization , tripling Yahoo stock , growing mobile users to over 650 million , building a $1.5B mobile ad business , and transforming Yahoos culture . Over Mayers tenure , the number of monthly visits on Yahoos home page went down from nearly 10 billion to less than 4.5 while Googles went up from 17 billion to over 56 . At the time of Mayers hiring , Yahoos numbers had already been falling behind those of Googles for over a year . However , Mayer proved unable to reverse this trend . On 8 November 2017 , along with several other present and former corporate CEOs , Mayer testified before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce , Science , and Transportation regarding major security breaches at Yahoo during 2013 and 2014 . Allegations of gender-based discrimination . Scott Ard , a prominent editorial director , fired from Yahoo ! in 2015 , filed a lawsuit alleging that Mayer encouraged and fostered the use of an employee performance-rating system to accommodate management’s subjective biases and personal opinions , to the detriment of Yahoo!’s male employees . He claimed that , prior to his firing , he had received fully satisfactory performance reviews since starting at the company in 2011 as head of editorial programming for Yahoo s home page ; however , he was relieved of his role , which was given to a woman who had been recently hired . This case was dismissed in March 2018 . An earlier lawsuit was filed by Gregory Anderson , who was fired in 2014 , alleging the company’s performance management system was arbitrary and unfair and disguised layoffs as terminations for the purpose of evading state and federal WARN Acts , making it the first WARN Act and gender discrimination lawsuit Yahoo ! and Mayer faced in 2016 . Sunshine ( 2018–present ) . After leaving Yahoo ! in 2017 , Mayer started Sunshine ( formerly Lumi Labs ) with former colleague Enrique Munoz Torres . The company is based in Palo Alto and is focused on artificial intelligence and consumer media . On November 18 , 2020 , Mayer announced that Lumi Labs would be rebranded as Sunshine at the same time as revealing its first product : Sunshine Contacts . Sunshine Contacts claims to improve the users iPhone contacts and Google contacts using intelligent algorithms , contact data , public sources , and more . Boards . As well as sitting on the boards of directors of Walmart , Maisonette , and Jawbone , Mayer also sits on several non-profit boards , such as Cooper–Hewitt , National Design Museum , New York City Ballet , San Francisco Ballet , and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art . Business investments . Mayer actively invests in technology companies , including crowd-sourced design retailer Minted , live video platform Airtime.com , wireless power startup uBeam , online DIY community/e-commerce company Brit + Co. , mobile payments processor Square , home décor site One Kings Lane , genetic testing company Natera , and nootropics and biohacking company Nootrobox . Accolades . Mayer was named to Fortune magazines annual list of Americas 50 Most Powerful Women in Business in 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , and 2014 with ranks at 50 , 44 , 42 , 38 , 14 , 8 and 16 respectively . In 2008 , at age 33 , she was the youngest woman ever listed . Mayer was named one of Glamour Magazines Women of the Year in 2009 . She was listed in Forbes Magazines List of The Worlds 100 Most Powerful Women in 2012 , 2013 and 2014 , with ranks of 20 , 32 and 18 respectively . In September 2013 , Mayer became the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to be featured in a Vogue magazine spread . In 2013 , she was also named in the Time 100 , becoming the first woman listed as number one on Fortune magazines annual list of the top 40 business stars under 40 years old . Mayer made Fortune magazine history in 2013 , as the only person to feature in all three of its annual lists during the same year : Businessperson of the Year ( No . 10 ) , Most Powerful Women ( at No . 8 ) , and 40 Under 40 ( No . 1 ) at the same time . In March 2016 , Fortune then named Mayer as one of the worlds most disappointing leaders . On 24 December 2015 , Mayer was listed by UK-based company Richtopia at number 14 in the list of 500 Most Influential CEOs . Mayer appeared on the List of women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies in 2017 , having ranked 498 of the top 500 Fortune 500 company CEOs . Personal life . Mayer married lawyer and investor Zachary Bogue on December 12 , 2009 . On the day Yahoo ! announced her hiring , Mayer revealed that she was pregnant ; she gave birth to a baby boy on September 30 , 2012 . Although she asked for baby name suggestions via social media , she eventually chose the name Macallister from an existing list . On December 10 , 2015 , Mayer announced that she had given birth to identical twin girls , Marielle and Sylvana . Mayer is Lutheran , but she has said—referencing Vince Lombardis Your God , your family and the Green Bay Packers—that her priorities are God , family and Yahoo! , except Im not that religious , so its really family and Yahoo! . Further reading . - What Happened When Marissa Mayer Tried to Be Steve Jobs ( 2014-12-17 ) , Nicholas Carlson , The New York Times - Marissa Mayer – How Yahoo ! went from mess to an Apple Design award ( 2014-08-15 ) , Tim Green , Hot Topics External links . - Marissa Mayer : One of the Most Powerful Women in Business at Richtopia