Yahoo's Levinsohn leaves, as expected, after Mayer gets top job

Levinsohn took over Yahoo in May during one of the darkest moments in the legendary Internet company's history. It had just lost its latest CEO, Scott Thompson, amid a scandal involving incorrect information on Thompson's resume. Thompson had been hired in January as Yahoo's third CEO in just over three years.

But Levinsohn was not picked to take over the job permanently. Instead, during his brief tenure as interim CEO, Yahoo searched for and found its next permanent leader in Mayer. The former Google executive has been widely called a strong choice to revive the ailing company.

After Levinsohn had been passed over for the spot, his resignation was not considered a surprise. His last day on the job will be Tuesday, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing made on Monday.

Levinsohn joined Yahoo in October 2010 and was head of the company's global media division. His background was in the media industry, including a stint at News Corp.

Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com