★ Image : The Executive Exodus
So who’s next ?
∞ Yahoo News Head Moves to Disney.com
From AllThingsD:
Yesterday, BoomTown reported that Mark Walker, the head of the powerful Yahoo News site, was leaving the Internet giant for another company.
That company, sources said, will be Disney, where Walker will be leading a major overhaul of its flagship Disney.com site.
The property, which has largely been a promotional and aggregation play for Disney’s many family-oriented offerings–such as its popular Disney Channel cable television shows–still sees 20 million unique visitors monthly.
Walker will report to Jimmy Pitaro, the former Yahoo media head who is now co-president of Disney’s online division with John Pleasants. Walker worked directly for Pitaro at Yahoo.
∞ A Flickr Founder’s Gaming Start-Up to Release Glitch
From NYT.com :
Stewart Butterfield helped found Flickr, the popular photo site later acquired by Yahoo, as a backup. Originally, he had set out to build an online video game, but then detoured when he failed to find investors.
Now, six years later, Mr. Butterfield, made wealthy by the sale of Flickr, is back to video games. Tiny Speck, his start-up, is testing its first game, Glitch, with more than 5,000 users.
Glitch is what gamers call a massively multiplayer game, which lets many people play online at once. In Glitch, characters, or avatars, appear onscreen in a fantasy world, inspired by and wood block illustrations, that includes giants, chickens and underground mines.
∞ Yahoo Music's Bronikowski Jumps To AOL
From Yahoo! Finance :
Jeff Bronikowski is leaving his post after just 8 months as the head of Yahoo Music to join AOL, where he takes on the same role. The move comes just after AOL has revamped its home page and is continuing to build up its news and entertainment offerings.
∞ Yahoo Plans 10 Percent Layoff in Product Unit
Hopefully the company will not close its door outside the USA like AOL…
From AllThingsD :
Yahoo is indeed preparing to lay off employees, in a reduction in force that will be done in December.
But the layoffs, first reported in TechCrunch at 20 percent, will be closer to 10 percent and be almost completely centered on the product organization under Chief Product Officer Blake Irving, said sources close to the situation. That would mean layoffs of about 650, since that part of Yahoo has about 6,500 employees.
∞ Yahoo! to Appoint Wayne Powers to Head US Advertising Sales
From Yahoo! Press Room :
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) announced today that the company will appoint Wayne Powers as senior vice president, Advertising Sales for North America. Powers, who previously served as President of the Time Inc. Media Group, will report directly to incoming Executive Vice President of the Americas, Ross Levinsohn. Powers will be based in Yahoo!’s New York office.
“Wayne is a proven leader and innovator who will bring a wealth of operating expertise and advertiser relationships to Yahoo!,” said Levinsohn. “His record of brand building with advertisers and his focus on driving revenue through creative executions will serve both Yahoo! and Madison Avenue well.”
∞ Yahoo CIO Kirwan Bids Adieu
From BoomTown :
As part of BoomTown’s duty as internal jobs board for Yahoo, here’s another departure: CIO Michael Kirwan.
A terse email went out yesterday about Kirwan’s leaving.
According to his Yahoo bio, he had “global responsibility for Yahoo!’s Corporate Systems group, which includes the IT Infrastructure, Corporate Applications, CRM and Premium Services Infrastructure teams. These teams ensure Yahoo!’s internal systems and billing/anti-fraud services are available 24/7.”
In other words, the guy who keeps the lights on! Kirwan reported to David Dibble, EVP of Service Engineering & Operations at Yahoo.
Kirwan previously worked at VeriSign, as well as at Bank of America, Bank of California, and Union Bank of California.
∞ Yahoo Names Ross Levinsohn To Run Americas Business
From Barrons.com
Yahoo on Wednesday named Ross Levinsohn as executive VP of the Americas region, reporting to CEO Carol Bartz. He will be responsible for the company’s media group, advertising sales and partnerships for the Americas region.
Levinsohn is a former president of News Corp. unit Fox Interactive Media; he’s also held positions at AltaVista, CBS and HBO.
∞ Yahoo's Head of Mobile, North America Leaves
From AllThingsD :
Today in Yahoo’s third-quarter earnings conference call with Wall Street analysts, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz said tersely of a flood of exec departures at the Silicon Valley Internet giant: “Some people leave, some get promoted and some good people arrive.” Yes, indeedy, and this afternoon, it was David Katz’s turn to say goodbye. He was Yahoo’s VP for Mobile, North America. (He is pictured here, and you can read his bio here.) The move, said sources, is part of a reorganization in the wake of the departure of David Ko, SVP Audience of Mobile and Local, North America. He was replaced by Raymond Stern, who also heads business development.
∞ Yahoo Board Committed To Bartz, Says Source
From smartmoney.com :
Yahoo Inc.’s (YHOO) board firmly supports beleaguered Chief Executive Carol Bartz and remains fully committed to fulfilling her four-year contract, a person familiar with the situation said Monday. The person, who asked not to be identified, also said the board hasn’t discussed bringing in a strong No. 2, such as a chief operating officer, to help Bartz execute her plans for revitalizing the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Internet company.
