Fresh from delivering delight to Yahoo shareholders last week in the form of the $US7.5 billion deal with Alibaba Group, company CEO Marissa Mayer announced on Wednesday the appointment of a new key executive.

Set to join Yahoo on Oct 22 as finance chief is Ken Goldman, Ms Mayer said in a statement. He will assume the post currently occupied by Tim Morse, a remnant of the fiery but short reign of former Yahoo chief Carol Bartz.

"Ken is one of the most accomplished and respected financial executives in the technology industry having served as a CFO for more than 25 years, and we're thrilled to have him join Yahoo," Ms Mayer was reported by Agence France Presse (AFP) as saying in a statement issued on Wednesday.

Mr Goldman, according to the Yahoo chief, carries with a "track record leading the financial strategy and stewardship of many successful public and private companies."

The new Yahoo CFO is a suitable addition as the Internet pioneer takes on the quest to recover its former glory, which is best achieved by pursuing growth goals, Ms Mayer added.

From a finance manager in Mr Morse that Yahoo hired to halt its almost incessant financial bleedings in the past years, the shift to Mr Goldman, analysts said, signifies Ms Mayer's intent to plot parallel course for the tech firm - to arrest its revenue declines and take on growth opportunities.

The Alibaba deal last week was a take off point for Ms Mayer, they added, which should fit both her agenda and the demands voiced out by Yahoo investors.

From the $US4.3 billion that Yahoo is expected to pocket from the arrangement with the Chinese firm, Ms Mayer said $US3 billion will be used to buy back Yahoo shares, effectively accomplishing one of the goals - appeasing one of the major gripes coming from the shareholders' chambers.

The rest, she revealed, will act as kitty for Yahoo's expansion moves and for major head hunting, which on Wednesday is manifested in the addition to the Yahoo senior executive roster of Mr Goldman.

According to The Associated Press, the 63-year-old incoming Yahoo CFO is a 30-year veteran in the tech business and is "best known as the CFO of Siebel Systems."

That post, AP said, was marked by a $US6.1 billion deal that saw the firm taken over by software biggie Oracle Corp.

Mr Goldman himself is upbeat on his upcoming tenure with Yahoo, which he described in a statement as "an iconic brand with an incredibly strong business model and balance sheet."

"I believe there is a lot of runway ahead for this business, and I look forward to working with Marissa and the rest of the executive team as we define Yahoo's future," he declared.

Yahoo revealed the new executive shakeup as Ms Mayer spoke to Yahoo employees for the first time since she left Google July this year to inform them of her 'exciting growth plans', Reuters said on Wednesday.

Citing unnamed sources, the news agency added that the CEO address on Yahoo's Sunnyvale, California main base was greeted with enthusiasm and "spontaneous applause from the workforce."

The last two months, analysts said, have been mostly characterised by whiff of fresh airs for Yahoo employees, who for years were made to bear processions of sad news and executive upheavals.

The Yahoo HQ, specifically, was the beneficiary of a Google culture that Ms Mayer brought with her when she accepted the CEO chair - free-flowing food and gadget giveaways that were aim to make the workforce happier while working with the firm, Reuters said.