The internet pioneer said the sale of its main operating unit was on track to be completed in the second quarter, and that McInerney would head the financial holding company that remains, provisionally called "Altbaba."
The main holding of Altbaba would be its stake in Chinese internet giant Alibaba, which is worth far more than the rest of the Yahoo operations.
McInerney, 52, has been a Yahoo board member since April 2012 and previously served as chief financial officer of IAC/InterActiveCorp.
"We will continue to move ahead expeditiously toward the closing, which we expect to occur in the second quarter of 2017."
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The statement noted that Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer and chief financial officer Kenneth Goldman will remain in their posts prior to the closing.
Yahoo and Verizon last month cut the price of the sale to USD 4.48 billion -- a reduction of USD 350 million -- following revelations of massive data breaches that could further erode the image of the onetime internet leader.
Yahoo announced in September that hackers in 2014 stole personal data from more than 500 million of its user accounts. And in December it admitted to another cyber attack from 2013 affecting more than a billion users.