Industry veteran Henrique de Castro was named the new chief operating officer at Yahoo this week.

De Castro will be responsible for strategic and operational management of Yahoo’s sales, operations, media and business development.

“Henrique is an incredibly accomplished and rigorous business leader, and I’m personally excited to have him join Yahoo’s strong leadership team,” Marissa Mayer, the new CEO for Yahoo, said in a statement carried by TMCnet. “His operational experience in Internet advertising and his proven success in structuring and scaling global organizations make him the perfect fit for Yahoo as we propel the business to its next phase of growth.”

Other statements about de Castro were not as positive – and he was seen as a tough boss, according to news reports.

He looks forward to the new job. "This is a pivotal point in Yahoo’s history, and I believe strongly in the opportunity ahead,” de Castro said in a company statement. 

De Castro was vice president of Google’s (News - Alert) worldwide Partner Business Solutions group, where he was responsible for advertising platforms and services for Google's publisher and commerce partners. Prior to Google, de Castro managed sales and business development operations in Western Europe for Dell (News - Alert). He has also worked for McKinsey.

De Castro will start his new job on or before Jan. 22, 2013.

Mayer made the announcement after she returned from her maternity leave on her "first full day back in the office," she tweeted.

Mayer is Google’s fifth CEO in four years, and she is trying to turn the company around as it competes with the likes of Google.

De Castro is the latest new top executive to be hired at Yahoo. Ken Goldman was named chief financial officer in September, Bloomberg reported. Kathy Savitt, who formerly worked for American Eagle and Amazon, was named chief marketing officer in August, Bloomberg (News - Alert) added.

Another position that may soon be filled at Yahoo is the head of software development.