In most parts of the world, women are rarely given the responsibility for leading people, companies and countries. They rarely have the topmost jobs even when they are capable. But that is different for Marissa Mayer.
She is the current President and Chief Executive Officer of technology giant, Yahoo! It’s position she has held since July 2012. Previously, Mayer was a long-time executive and key spokesperson for Google. In 2013, she was ranked eighth on the list of America’s most powerful businesswomen by Fortune magazine.
The beginning of a powerful woman
The daughter of Margaret Mayer, an art teacher of Finnish descent, and Michael Mayer, an environmental engineer who worked for water companies, Mayer was born on May 30, 1975 in Wausau, Wisconsin, USA. Her grandfather, Clem Mayer, served as the Mayor of Jackson, Wisconsin for 32 years.
As a child, Mayer was ‘painfully shy’ and was a Brownie. During middle school and high school, she took piano and ballet lessons, the latter which taught her ‘criticism and discipline, poise and confidence.’
She attended Stanford University, USA where she got both her bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in symbolic systems. She was a stand-out in her computer science classes and received a whopping 14 job offers upon graduation. She eventually chose Google, becoming the company’s 20th employee and its first female engineer.
She started out writing code and overseeing small teams of engineers, developing and designing Google’s search offerings. She became known for her attention to detail and was soon promoted to product manager and later to the position of the Director of Consumer Web products.
Mayer was the Vice-President of Google Product Search until the end of 2010, when she was moved by then-CEO Eric Schmidt to head the Local, Maps, and Location Services.
On July 16, 2012, Mayer was appointed President and CEO of Yahoo! And she is also a member of the company’s board of directors.
Many honours for Mayer
In 2013, Mayer ranked 32 in the Forbes Magazine’s List of ‘The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.’ Also in 2013, she became the first woman listed as number one on Fortune magazine’s annual list of the top 40 business stars under 40 years old.
In 2014, she was listed again as one of the 100 most influential women in the world, where she was ranked 18, behind singing sensation, Beyonce Knowles.
As well as sitting on the boards of directors of Walmart, Jawbone, and Yahoo!, Mayer also sits on several non-profit boards such as Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
She was also named in Fortune magazine’s annual list of America’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 with the ranks 50, 44, 42, 38, 14 and 8, respectively.
In 2008, at age 33, she was the youngest woman ever listed. Mayer was named one of Glamour Magazine’s ‘Women of the Year’ in 2009.
She was listed in Forbes Magazine’s List of ‘The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ in 2012, 2013 and 2014, with ranks of 20, 32 and 18, respectively.
Mayer was once quoted as saying her priorities were ‘God, family and Yahoo, except I’m not that religious, so it’s really family and Yahoo.’
Mayer’s pay package and net worth
Being one of the first employees at Google paid her off. With her net worth estimated at $300m (N49.5bn), Mayer can afford a pretty fantastic life.
Her compensation package as Yahoo! CEO is reportedly worth $71m (N11.7bn) over the next five years, according to regulatory documents filed by the company – and it could top $120m (N19.8bn) if an extra batch of stock grants that she is eligible for comes through.
Her pay package is by far the most lavish that the company has offered to its recent string of CEOs. On top of a $1m (N165m) annual salary and $2m (N330m) target bonus, the deal includes a rich combination of stock grants and options.
She also got a stock grant valued at $14m (N2.3bn In most parts of the world, women are rarely given the responsibility for leading people, companies and countries. They rarely have the topmost jobs even when they are capable. But that is different for Marissa Mayer.
She is the current President and Chief Executive Officer of technology giant, Yahoo! It’s position she has held since July 2012. Previously, Mayer was a long-time executive and key spokesperson for Google. In 2013, she was ranked eighth on the list of America’s most powerful businesswomen by Fortune magazine.
The beginning of a powerful woman
The daughter of Margaret Mayer, an art teacher of Finnish descent, and Michael Mayer, an environmental engineer who worked for water companies, Mayer was born on May 30, 1975 in Wausau, Wisconsin, USA. Her grandfather, Clem Mayer, served as the Mayor of Jackson, Wisconsin for 32 years.
As a child, Mayer was ‘painfully shy’ and was a Brownie. During middle school and high school, she took piano and ballet lessons, the latter which taught her ‘criticism and discipline, poise and confidence.’
She attended Stanford University, USA where she got both her bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in symbolic systems. She was a stand-out in her computer science classes and received a whopping 14 job offers upon graduation. She eventually chose Google, becoming the company’s 20th employee and its first female engineer.
She started out writing code and overseeing small teams of engineers, developing and designing Google’s search offerings. She became known for her attention to detail and was soon promoted to product manager and later to the position of the Director of Consumer Web products.
Mayer was the Vice-President of Google Product Search until the end of 2010, when she was moved by then-CEO Eric Schmidt to head the Local, Maps, and Location Services.
On July 16, 2012, Mayer was appointed President and CEO of Yahoo! And she is also a member of the company’s board of directors.
Many honours for Mayer
In 2013, Mayer ranked 32 in the Forbes Magazine’s List of ‘The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.’ Also in 2013, she became the first woman listed as number one on Fortune magazine’s annual list of the top 40 business stars under 40 years old.
In 2014, she was listed again as one of the 100 most influential women in the world, where she was ranked 18, behind singing sensation, Beyonce Knowles.
As well as sitting on the boards of directors of Walmart, Jawbone, and Yahoo!, Mayer also sits on several non-profit boards such as Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
She was also named in Fortune magazine’s annual list of America’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 with the ranks 50, 44, 42, 38, 14 and 8, respectively.
In 2008, at age 33, she was the youngest woman ever listed. Mayer was named one of Glamour Magazine’s ‘Women of the Year’ in 2009.
She was listed in Forbes Magazine’s List of ‘The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ in 2012, 2013 and 2014, with ranks of 20, 32 and 18, respectively.
Mayer was once quoted as saying her priorities were ‘God, family and Yahoo, except I’m not that religious, so it’s really family and Yahoo.’
Mayer’s pay package and net worth
Being one of the first employees at Google paid her off. With her net worth estimated at $300m (N49.5bn), Mayer can afford a pretty fantastic life.
Her compensation package as Yahoo! CEO is reportedly worth $71m (N11.7bn) over the next five years, according to regulatory documents filed by the company – and it could top $120m (N19.8bn) if an extra batch of stock grants that she is eligible for comes through.
Her pay package is by far the most lavish that the company has offered to its recent string of CEOs. On top of a $1m (N165m) annual salary and $2m (N330m) target bonus, the deal includes a rich combination of stock grants and options.
She also got a stock grant valued at $14m (N2.3bn) to compensate her for the Google pay she left behind when she resigned from her previous employer.
Yahoo! also gave her a one-time $30m (N4.95bn) ‘retention award’, half of which was a straight stock grant, and the other half stock options with performance-based vesting criteria.
Mayer also netted an equity award worth an additional $12m (N1.98bn) in stock and options. That award was expected to be vested three years after her employment.
A fabulous lifestyle
Though Mayer is not a car freak as she still drives a 19-year-old BMW to her office everyday, she, however, has cravings for other things.
She bought a $5m (N825m) penthouse atop San Francisco’s luxurious Four Seasons hotel with a custom Dale Chihuly glass installation covering the ceiling.
A 2009 Vogue profile of Mayer revealed the details of her life, such as how often she goes shopping and her favourite designers.
Her 2009 wedding featured a performance by The Killers, a Reem Acra-designed gown and a ‘feast of lobster and caramelised beef.’
Mayer’s personal style is admired worldwide. She’s known to wear Carolina Herrera to the office and even Vogue raves over her shoe collection.
Oscar De La Renta, who has outfitted Eva Longoria and Cameron Diaz, told Vogue that Mayer was “one of my biggest customers.” She bought 20 of his cashmere cardigans for her friends. They’re about $2,700 (N445,500) each.
She wears a gold face Omega De Ville watch, which costs $20,000 (N3.3m).
She’s a trained classical ballerina. She picked up the hobby as a child and by junior high was practising 35 hours a week.
She carries a black Chanel bag that retails for upward of $4,000 (N660,000).
She also has a personal shopper at Bergdorf Goodman, who makes sure she stays fashionable by buying new collections twice a year.
In 2010, Mayer hosted a fundraiser at her home, where President Barack Obama was a special guest; admission was $30,000 (N4.95m) a plate.
In 2013, she reportedly spent $11.2m (N1.8bn) to buy the Roller & Hapgood & Tinney Funeral Home, located just a block east of her Palo Alto home. Though her reasons for buying the mortuary are still unclear, she did convert it into a haunted house for her annual Halloween bash.
She also owns a relatively modest home in Palo Alto, which is estimated to be worth $5.2m (N858m). Located in the city’s university south neighbourhood, the five-bedroom house was meant to be a place to crash after late nights in the office.
The home seems to be filled with quirky things. She and her husband bought a 15-foot, two-story model of the Peninsula Creamery, a diner in Palo Alto that’s frequented by Stanford students. They had the replica forklifted into their backyard so that their son could use it as a playhouse once he was big enough.
In 2006, she had some 400 pieces of glass art by Dale Chihuly installed in the ceiling of her apartment. The glass pieces typically sell for an average of $15,000 (N2.5m) each, and the delivery reportedly caused significant traffic problems in the city.
Mayer is known for her high-fashion sensibilities, regularly choosing pieces by designers like Carolina Herrera and Alexander McQueen. She once paid $60,000 (N9.9m) to have lunch with Oscar de la Renta and has said the designer’s three-quarter cashmere cardigan has become her work uniform — she owns one in ivory, navy, black, hot pink, teal, red, and royal blue.
Sources: businessinsider.com, en.wikipedia.org, money.cnn.com
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