Levinsohn's status uncertain at Yahoo after Mayer appointment

No official statement has been made about the former interim CEO's position at the company, but he's not likely to stay -- not for long, All Things D notes.

Ross Levinsohn, Yahoo's former interim CEO, has found himself in a difficult employment situation in the wake Marissa Mayer's appointment to lead the Web pioneer.

Levinsohn, who filled in as the company's chief for two months after Yahoo's board of directors booted Scott Thompson for padding his resume, was considered a front-runner for the job until the board tapped Mayer, a key VP at Google, for the position today.

Yahoo has not made an official statement on his status with the company. CNET has contacted Yahoo for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

However, sources tell All Things D that Levinsohn is not expected to stay with the company after the board unanimously chose an outsider with product experience over the media-focused company veteran. Indeed, the sources say the board's hope is that Levinsohn will stay with Yahoo, returning to run its media and sales division.

Levinsohn hasn't decided whether he will stay with the company, sources tell Business Insider. But Levinsohn suddenly finds himself in a position of power, according to Marc Andreessen.
"He's in the catbird seat right now," Andreessen said during a Q&A with Business Insider.

"They're either going to pay him a lot of money to stay there or he's immediately the No. 1 candidate for any other job."
Calling Levinsohn "a phenomenal executive" during an interview with Fortune, Mayer declined to say whether she expected him to remain with the company. "I haven't been commenting on my conversations with Ross," she said.

Levinsohn took over the CEO's duties in May after hedge fund Third Point discovered that Thompson's resume falsely claimed he had a computer science degree. Third Point, which owns 5.8 percent of the company's stock, had launched a proxy battle to seat its dissident-director slate on Yahoo's board.

Levinsohn joined Yahoo in late 2010, when then-CEO Carol Bartz named him to head up Yahoo's business across the Americas. He later assumed responsibility for the entire company's advertising business.

Asked if she expects Ross Levinsohn, the Yahoo interim CEO who was expected by most people to get the permanent job, to stay at the company, Mayer replies: "I haven't been commenting on my conversations with Ross." She calls Levinsohn "a phenomenal executive."