Ross Levinsohn, the interim chief executive who was snubbed in the search for a permanent leader at Yahoo is leaving the internet portal.

Yahoo announced the departure in a securities filing on Monday.

With much fanfare, Yahoo appointed 37-year-old Marissa Mayer as chief executive two weeks ago. Retaining Mr Levinsohn would have been one of her first big triumphs.

Mr Levinsohn's exit was not unexpected. Yahoo's stock barely moved in after-hours trading. Following the announcement, it rose 2 cents to $US16. The stock closed on Monday's regular session down 13 cents, or less than one per cent, at $US15.98. In the last year, Yahoo's stock has traded between $US11.09 and $US16.79.

Mr Levinsohn, 48, had been head of Yahoo's global media business and had pushed the company to enter into exclusive partnerships with the likes of CNBC and Tom Hanks to create original content.

But Mr Levinsohn was passed over twice by the company's board in favour of other top executives, including Scott Thompson, who resigned in May over discrepancies on his resume after just four months on the job.