Jerry Yang says committed to remaining Yahoo CEO

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Jerry Yang said on Tuesday he is committed to remaining chief executive of Yahoo Inc as he spoke of relief at having averted a proxy battle with Carl Icahn for control of the company.

"If you ask me, I am absolutely committed," Yang told Reuters in an interview that followed Yahoo's second-quarter report, which showed a small drop in profit in the face of a tough economy and a takeover fight with Microsoft Corp.

The settlement with Icahn, announced on Monday, came just 11 days before Yahoo's Aug. 1 annual shareholders meeting. Icahn had originally sought to replace the entire board with his own nominees and oust Yang.

Despite a bruising freshman year as CEO of the company he co-founded 14 years ago, Yang said he looks forward to Icahn joining him on the board of directors as part of the settlement.

"Carl is a very smart guy. He is clearly one of the best negotiators out there," Yang said, adding that: "We think it is a good settlement. We avoided a pretty public fight."