Yahoo Appoints Scott Thompson as New CEO

Yahoo has named Scott Thompson, former president of online payment service of PayPal, as its new chief executive officer on Jan. 4, 2012.

Thompson's appointment will be effective from Jan. 9, when he will also formally join the company's board of directors.

Yahoo fired former CEO Carol Bartz on Sep 6, 2011. Bartz had taken over as CEO from Yahoo co-founder Jerry Young in January 2009, when the company was struggling to stay competitive and profitable in a market dominated by Google.

Under Thompson's leadership, PayPal expanded its user base from 50 million to more than 104 million worldwide, and revenues from $1.8 billion to over $4 billion in 2011.