Yahoo Inc. recently appointed Marissa Mayer, a former key employee of Google, as its new Chief Executive. This appointment for Marissa Mayer would be a big challenge for Mayer-both professionally and personally.

In a statement released by Yahoo, the company stated that this appointment "signals a renewed focus on product innovation to drive user experience and advertising revenue for one of the world's largest consumer Internet brands." Mayer also revealed her thoughts about this new challenge saying "I am honored and delighted to lead Yahoo, one of the Internet's premier destinations for more than 700 million users. I look forward to working with the company's dedicated employees to bring innovative products, content, and personalized experiences to users and advertisers all around the world."

Yahoo's Challenge

After a few hours after Yahoo appointed its new Chief Executive, Yahoo released a report detailing its second-quarter earnings. According to the report, the company was able to earn a total of US$227 million for the past quarter. This figure was down by 4% from the net income of US$237 million from the previous year. The total revenue for the company revealed to be a total of US$1.08 billion (after taking out ad commissions). This figure showed a drop by 1% as compared to last year's revenue which is around US$1.22 billion. The company also implemented employee lay-offs as a form of cost-cutting measure. A total of 1,500 employees were laid off from the company thus leaving Yahoo with only 12,500 employees left. The decision to cut-down their employees cost the company US$136 million. The biggest profit-making came from Yahoo Japan and China's Alibaba Group.

Marissa Mayer's Personal Challenge

Upon receiving the job appointment, Marissa Mayer was already pregnant with her first child which would arrive in early October. This can be a big personal challenge for Marissa Mayer as she struggles in bringing in Yahoo to its former glory. Kevin Coyne, a management consultant who teaches business strategy at Emory University shared his thoughts about the matter and discloses that "If she succeeds, it will be a landmark case for women everywhere. Women will talk about her for decades." When she was interviewed, no Yahoo director expressed concern about her personal condition. Marissa Mayer remarked that she plans to work during her maternity leave.

These are just some of the challenges that Marissa Mayer has to face in facing her new role in Yahoo. There are still a lot more that she could encounter along the way and it would be interesting to see how Mayer would be able to succeed in making Yahoo "big" again in this competitive market.