The news was first reported on AllThingsD, which said the circumstances surrounding Bartz's departure were unclear but cited unnamed sources on the board as saying Chairman Roy Bostock and co-founder and director Jerry Yang had informed Bartz of "the need to make a change." Further detail on how the leadership change happened wasn't provided by Yahoo but Bostock did thank Bartz for her service to the company in its statement. Yahoo said it's starting a search for Bartz's successor and that it expects to hire an executive search firm to help find potential candidates "as expeditiously as possible." Yahoo also said it's forming an executive leadership council to support Morse in day-to-day operations until a permanent CEO is named and to support "a comprehensive strategic review that the Board has initiated to position the company for future growth." Bartz was under fire for much of her time at Yahoo's helm. She assumed the CEO post in January 2009 after a long tenure at Autodesk ( ADSK ).