Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer says she apologised and felt "really badly" for being late to a dinner with advertisers last week in Cannes, France, in her first public comments since facing criticism over the incident.

Ms Mayer said in a Bloomberg interview that she did not mean to slight attendees at the dinner hosted by Interpublic Group of Cos at Cannes Lions, an advertising festival that drew Google, AOL, Microsoft and others.

She added that she was pleased with the more than 200 meetings that Yahoo had at Cannes.

“I think the dinner is unfortunate, how much attention it’s gotten,” Ms Mayer said. “I was late. I apologised to IPG at the time and in no way meant for it to be a slight to them.”

Ms Mayer was responding after critics questioned her commitment to building relationships with advertisers following the Cannes event.

The chief executive kept guests waiting for about two hours at the dinner that was attended by top ad executives, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified.

Ms Mayer later told guests she had overslept, said one of the people. – (Bloomberg)