Yahoo’s search for a new CEO appears to be over.  Carol Bartz, an outsider who wasn’t even mentioned on most of the early lists of possible contenders, has won the spot according to several fresh reports.

 Carol Bartz

Here’s a little background info.  Bartz has an honors degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin.  She’s worked at Digital Equipment Corporation, 3M Corporation, and Sun Microsystems.  More recently, she served as president and CEO of Autodesk, and remains executive chairman of the board.  She is also on the boards of Intel and Cisco Systems.

Bartz has spent a great deal of time in tech circles, then, and has achieved some impressive things.  Considering what Yahoo’s been through recently, the company’s leaders must be thrilled they could still attract such a candidate.

But unfortunately, Bartz doesn’t seem to have had any direct contact with the search industry.  Her resume is lacking in advertising experience, too, which makes her something of a questionable fit for Yahoo.  The makeup of Bartz’s team of top execs – and how much she listens to them – is something that will bear watching.

So – although a WSJ report on Bartz’s appointment hasn’t officially been confirmed - here we go with a new era in Yahoo’s history.

UPDATE: Well, yep, it’s official now, press release and all.  Also of note: even as Jerry Yang steps down as planned, President Sue Decker has done something unexpected by announcing her intention to resign.