Carol Bartz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carol Bartz
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Bartz at her first Yahoo! all hands meeting (2009)
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Carol Ann Bartz
August 28, 1948 Winona, Minnesota, U.S.
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| Alma mater | William Woods University University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Known for | Former CEO of Yahoo! (2009-2011) |
Carol Ann Bartz (born August 28, 1948) is an American business leader. She is known for being the former CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the internet company Yahoo!. Before that, she was also the chairman and CEO of Autodesk, a company that makes software for design.
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Early Life and Education
Carol Bartz was born in Winona, Minnesota. Her mother passed away when Carol was eight years old. A few years later, she and her younger brother moved to a dairy farm in Alma, Wisconsin, to live with their grandmother.
In high school, Carol was very good at mathematics. She started college at William Woods University and later went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 1971, she earned a bachelor's degree in computer science. While in college, she worked to support herself.
Carol Bartz has also received several honorary degrees from different universities. These special degrees recognize her achievements and contributions.
Career Journey
In 1976, Carol Bartz started working at a large manufacturing company called 3M. However, she left when her request to move to the company's main office was not approved. After that, she moved into the computer industry. She worked at companies like Digital Equipment Corporation and Sun Microsystems.
Leading Autodesk
In 1992, Carol Bartz became the CEO of Autodesk. This company creates special software used for design, especially by architects and builders. People say that Bartz helped Autodesk become a leader in this field. She encouraged a concept called "fail fast." This idea means that a company should not be afraid to try new things, even if they might fail. If something doesn't work, the company should learn from it quickly and move on.
During her 14 years as CEO, Autodesk grew a lot. The company's yearly income increased from $300 million to $1.5 billion. The value of the company's stock also went up by about 20 percent each year.
Carol Bartz also served on the boards of directors for several other big companies. These included Intel and Cisco Systems.
Becoming CEO of Yahoo!
On January 13, 2009, Carol Bartz was named the CEO of Yahoo!. Yahoo! is a well-known internet services company. She took over from one of the company's founders, Jerry Yang. When she started, she told financial experts that she wanted to give Yahoo! "some breathing room" so the company could "kick some butt." This meant she wanted to give the company space to improve and succeed.
By May 2009, she had already made many changes at Yahoo!. She reorganized how the company worked, replaced some leaders, and cut costs. This included reducing the number of employees by about 5 percent.
Some employees became worried about more job cuts. There was also a feeling of secrecy within the company. Bartz was known for keeping information private, only sharing it with people who "needed to know." This was different from Yahoo!'s usual open way of sharing information.
After one year at Yahoo!, in January 2010, Bartz gave herself a "B−" grade for her work. She felt it was harder than she expected. However, many in the media thought she did a good job, considering the challenges she faced.
When she was hired, Carol Bartz received a yearly salary of $1 million. She also received many shares in the company. On September 6, 2011, Carol Bartz was removed from her role as CEO of Yahoo!. She later resigned from the company's Board of Directors.
Serving on Company Boards
Carol Bartz has been a member of the boards of directors for eight public companies over the past 20 years. As of 2018, she serves on the boards of PlanGrid and Cisco.
Awards and Recognition
In 2001, Carol Bartz received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. This award recognizes successful business leaders around the world. From 2005, she was also included in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women for six years in a row.
Personal Life
Carol Bartz is a survivor of breast cancer. She is married to Bill Marr, who also worked as an executive in the technology industry. They have three children named Bill, Meredith, and Layne. For fun, Carol enjoys playing golf, tennis, and gardening.
When asked about balancing her career and family life, Bartz once said: "I have a belief that life isn't about balance, because balance is perfection. Rather, it's about catching the ball before it hits the floor." This means she believes it's about managing things as they come, rather than trying to make everything perfectly even.
Images for kids
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Carol Bartz at her first Yahoo! all hands meeting (2009)
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Bartz pictured far left. Mark Zuckerberg listens to President Barack Obama before a private meeting where Obama dined with technology business leaders in Woodside, California, February 17, 2011. (Also pictured, from left: Carol Bartz, Art Levinson of Genentech, Steve Westly of The Westly Group, and Eric Schmidt of Google.)
See also
In Spanish: Carol Bartz para niños
