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Yahoo's Marissa Mayer goes glam in 'Vogue'

Jon Swartz
USA TODAY
  • Mayer on work-life balance%3A %27It%27s midnight...I%27m eight months pregnant. I need to leave%21%27
  • Yahoo%27s vision is to deliver the things that people do on their phones
  • Vogue writer says Mayer is a %27geek%27s geek%27


Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer in September's 'Vogue.'

SAN FRANCISCO — Jennifer Lawrence may be Vogue's latest cover girl, but Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer graces its pages in a photo spread and lengthy profile, which hits the Internet Friday and newsstands nationwide next week.

The magazine gave USA TODAY first look at the 3,000-word profile by Slate Group Chairman Jacob Weisberg for its September issue. In her first extensive print interview since she took over Yahoo in July 2012, an expansive Mayer discusses her turnaround plan, fashion, her family and geekdom.

Yahoo had no official comment on the article.

Mayer, 38, who acknowledges she grapples with shyness, weighs in on:

• Motherhood. "One night I looked up and was like, 'Oh, my God, it's midnight and I have a husband and I'm, like, eight months pregnant. I need to leave!' I was just here working, having the best possible time."

• Yahoo's $1 billion acquisition of Tumblr. "I've done now between three and four dozen acquisitions in my career … and I've never seen this kind of lock-and-key fit between two companies."

• Yahoo's vision. "Close your eyes and listen to this list," she tells Weisberg. "E-mail, maps, weather, news, stock quotes, share photos, group communication, sport scores, games. You're listening to what people do on their mobile phones. And it sounds like a list of what Yahoo does."

Weisberg calls Mayer a "geek's geek" who was more interested in talking technology and design than the celebrity-driven questions she normally gets. "She was animated and excited about technical issues," Weisberg said in a phone interview.

"I thought she would be quite controlling, but once I talked to her, she let go," says Weisberg, who spent hours shadowing Mayer at home and at work. "She's very nice, but very, very focused … with a tight circle of friends."

It's Mayer's second profile with Vogue. In 2009, while at Google, she talked to the magazine.

September 'Vogue.'
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