Yahoo has announced its anticipated reorganization. As expected executives Hilary Schneider and Ash Patel are consolidating power under president Sue Decker. All product development will come under the responsibility of Patel, a Yahoo veteran and Yang loyalist. Schneider will take over all the advertising sales teams across the company. A third “Insights Strategy” team has also been formed to centralize strategy. Nobody has yet been named to head up that group.
This reshuffle follows mass defections and a shakeup of its upper ranks. Wall Street is underwhelmed. The stock is down nearly 3 percent today (granted, on a terrible day for stocks overall).
The company is also announcing a new cloud computing group and new responsibilities for three search executives—Venkat Panchapakesan, Tuoc Luong, and David Ku— who are filling the hole left by former EVP of engineering Qi Lu.
Here’s the press release:
Yahoo! Announces Realignment to Support Core Strategies
Centralizes Audience Product Development; Forms New U.S. Region;
Realigns Technology Organization
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jun 26, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading global Internet company, today announced changes to its organization aimed at improving its products, technologies and execution. The moves support its strategy to be the starting point for the most users, the must-buy for the most advertisers and the platform of choice for developers.
Key elements Yahoo! announced are the centralization of consumer product development to enhance the company’s ability to release products worldwide; the creation of a U.S. region focused on bringing products to market for users, advertisers and publishers; formation of an insights strategy team; and enhancements to the technology infrastructure to optimize the use of data and improve coordination between product and engineering teams.
“These moves accelerate the ability of our deep and talented team to build great products, grow our audiences and improve monetization globally,” said Jerry Yang, CEO. “They are designed to put us in an even better position to leverage our leading global audience and capture the opportunity we see in the convergence of search and display advertising.”
Business and Product Changes
The company is creating three new teams that will report to President Sue Decker. An Audience Products Division will assume responsibility for companywide product strategy and product management. It will be led by Ash Patel who previously managed the company’s Platforms & Infrastructure group. A U.S. region with accountability for all go-to-market activity in the U.S. will be led by Hilary Schneider, who previously headed the company’s Global Partner Solutions group. Finally, an Insights Strategy team will assume responsibility for centralizing and executing a common strategy for the use of data and analysis across Yahoo!. The company plans to name this group’s leader within the next few weeks.
“The changes we’re making today will help deliver superior global products for users and enable faster and better decision-making,” said President Sue Decker. “This is a logical next step in light of our success last year in moving to a more centralized approach to developing world-class marketing products. We have planned these changes deliberately over the past several months to clarify responsibilities and to capitalize on the scale advantages while allowing for fine tuning to meet local market needs.”
Technology and Infrastructure Changes
Yahoo! is making changes to its technology organization, led by Chief Technology Officer Ari Balogh, to better position the company to execute on its strategic priorities. Principal changes are developing a world-class cloud computing and storage infrastructure; rewiring Yahoo! onto common platforms; and creating a stronger partnership between product and engineering teams.
“Since my arrival at Yahoo! earlier this year, we’ve carefully evaluated the best possible configuration of our technology group to support our business strategies,” said Balogh. “I’m excited by the depth of our team which–combined with the talent we continue to recruit–will execute even better under this new structure.”
In order to expand its cloud computing capabilities, the Company will form a Cloud Computing & Data Infrastructure Group, charged with developing a computing infrastructure that balances scalability with cost effectiveness. It will move all consumer-facing platform teams to the Audience Technology Group, led by Venkat Panchapakesan. In addition, it is putting new leadership in place behind Yahoo!’s search group, naming Prabhakar Raghavan to direct search strategy and Tuoc Luong as the interim leader of the search product team. Both Prabhakar and Tuoc will also continue in their roles as the leaders of Yahoo! Research and Search Engineering respectively. In addition, David Ku will lead the Advertising Technology Group within Search.
Yahoo!’s Marketing Products Division, Connected Life and Corporate Marketing groups will continue to operate as they do today.
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Y! will continue to surprise the world.. as promised..
I think you should change the name of this blog to
“TechYahooLoverCrunch”
Yahoo! still have executives left to reorg. I thought everyone at the top level already left..
yahoo, officially a kakistocracy.
@Ydrive
How many times are you going to leave the same worthless comment? What is the name of the condition you suffer from? Is it related to retardation?
Where are the cries from the yahoos? Just one whiner (advertspace)?
Good to see another Indian moving to the top of the corporate ladder.
Great going Ash!
AdvertiseSpace,
Nah, but with how often Yahoo! is making changes and all of the speculation about future changes, maybe TechCrunch could launch another crunch site called “yCrunch?” with just Yahoo news and speculation. Things are certainly shifting over at Yahoo!. Hopefully for the better.
Cloud computing and marketing?
Would it be possible to copy google any more (amazon indirectly)? Y! simply follows, they no longer lead.
Just sell it Decker, you are clueless.
i’m all for indians at the top - unfortunately ash is only there because jerry yang is more sentimental than smart.
Geez… why not just make another site called YahooCrunch…. these Yahoo/Microsoft posts have become too much of a focus IMHO.
I’ll second that… After being at Y! and sitting through many meetings with Ash… Not a leader, not somebody to drive, nice guy, but not what Y! needs.
@Stewart
Hooray! for Buzzwords! and Corporate Speak!
But what does it all mean….?
@Comical, anonymous
Then I would say Jerry should throw him out!
But does Jerry has an option, who wants to be at Yahoo! anymore?
http://www.relianceinsider.com/
@Stewart - It’s called Y-tardation.
@Kevin
What a pity the announcement is inward-looking and poorly explained. Very hard to discern a clear strategy in the apparent confusion between customer-set, geography and technology at the highest levels.
Ash, huh? Interesting. Never really felt like he was that kind of a leader. Smart guy, for sure…but Yahoo needs freshness, urgently.
Where’s the “Yahoo to Acquire Icanhazcheeseburger.com in Key Move to Bolster Online Content Network” announcement? I also hear they’re in talks to buy FAILBLOG too.
Seriously.
Yahoo! is not reorganizing because of a lot executives recently left. They (ok, most of them, not all) left because of the upcoming reorg. This has been planned for a while …
yahoo is trying the shock and awe approach. shock all the employees with completely incomprehensible organizational structures, and awe with empy promises ….
up until this reorg i had hope, so much internal mid ranks talent and technology that is now being MORE buried underneath mediocracy. when a major group at yahoo is led by a former CEO of redherring, not much else needs to be said.
every shareholder and person now knows the following fact: microsoft would take yahoo’! promise and technology much further than yahoo ever will.
that statement itself says it all.
and the market response - ho-hum.
Yayawn!
How many times must we endure this behavior from once meaningful technology companies? The CEO shifts into siege mentality and reorganizes around the people who left inside the walls.
Jerry built his own box and now finds he is unable to think outside the d%#! thing.
I think one thing we can all be sure of here, is that Arrington is completely correct in predicting Jerry Yang’s imminent departure. These moves confirm it, regardless of loaded terms like “loyalist.” Why no bad-mouthing Hilary?
every shareholder and person now knows the following fact: microsoft would take yahoo’! promise and technology much further than yahoo ever will.
Name the last “promise” Microsoft took further than anybody else could have. That’s right, you got nothin’.
How many times must we endure this behavior from once meaningful technology companies? The CEO shifts into siege mentality and reorganizes around the people who left inside the walls.
Microsoft perfected NIH bizdev, which means Yahoo is perfect for them! Right?
SORRY not related to this post but could not find another place to post it.
Bit surprised to see a Nanny job at Crunch Board Jobs.
“Nanny Needed” - http://www.crunchboard.com/ope.....p?jid=4557
I thought Techcrunch is all about technology
Is it just me or Ash Patel looks like a Klingom?
I commented a while ago that the real Svengali at Yahoo! has been, and continues to be Sue Decker. She has been at the heart of the downfall thru the years, and Mike Arrington thought that was off-base back then. I wonder what he thinks now…
These are just my speculation & fantasy - I have no inside knowledge.
Evidence:
1. Sue Decker was the CFO who vetoed increased funding on key infrastructure capital funding & talent acquisition during 2004-2006 when Yahoo! still had a shot at competing with Google for index size & talent.
2. In 2006, Sue Decker outmanuevered Dan R and got him booted out and took his job, when Terry Semel was looking for a scapegoat.
3. 2007-2008, Sue Decker has been whispering in Jerry Yang’s ear to get him to reject MSFT deal. Of all the execs, who stands to lose the most in an MSFT acquisition? Jerry & Filo are already billionaires, and they are actually good guys, and would not have kicked the MSFT deal just for ego. Sue, on the other hand would be exposed as the bean counter that she really is, and has no business running operations for an Internet company.
4. In the latest reorg, Sue Decker got everyone with any talent to leave Y!, by putting toady Hilary Schneider in charge.
Mike- do you still think that Sue is not the problem at Yahoo?
Not only Yahoo is perfect for Microsoft (and sorry for another Microsoft/Yahoo comment) but it will make Microsoft the most powerful company of all times…
And when i thought about that i wondered if Microsoft is really the most powerful company in the world right now
So I went about doing some research and saw that some consider Apple, Google, or Exxon, as the most powerfl companies.
So i came across this website which is trying to figure out which one is the most powerful company in the world and I though it was worth mentionning, so check it out:
http://www.themostpowerfulcompany.com
Yahoo>google.
http://easysummermoney.blogspot.com/
Would somebody please wake me up with Yahoo has something substantial and specific to announce?
yeah must echo the ash sentiments. cool guy, i like him…although perplexed by this promotion. i would have favored some fresh blood here, someone with no ties inside the company. look at the new cto ari, seems to be doing a good job and doesn’t have a cabal of titsuckers to deal with.
also agree with people about decker. i’ve sat through a couple of her buzzword bingo presentations.
that said its not clear what the company does now. nothing fundamentally has changed.
Who is sick and tired of hearing about yahoo this yahoo that,talk about msn or someone else for a change.
http://www.crunchnow.com
As all the top notch execs are probably finding an alternative for a fat salary offer from other companies, Y! reaally needs a REORG [:)]
Who is sick and tired of this “crunchnow” moron?
Nothing insightful to say.
No inside knowledge.
Now complaining.
I bet he’s 19 or something…..
nah, i bet he’s about 40.
Now Yahoo has the opportunity to reinvent themselves. I, for one, am looking forward to what they create in the coming years.
I admire Jerry for sticking to his guns. Unlike so many other people at Yahoo, he takes this whole thing personally. Just think about it. He has been with Yahoo since the beginning and is getting hit from all directions. He has no where else to go. It should be interesting to see how this turns out. Personally, I like that Yahoo is fighting to keep its independence.
Wonder how come you got high def pictures from two above? Was this paid ad?
That is a huge restructuring wow. I’d like to learn more about the cloud computing portion of the site. Any ideas or resources to find this at? Thanks. http://www.readtheanswer.com/index.php?RTA=web2
the best thing for yahoo is spinoff all properties into separate companies….they are shrinking themself without even taking the $$$ from Microsoft.
Microsoft is laughing out loud taking down one of its competitor without even giving a penny
Sue Decker has failed and is failing. She must be replaced if Yahoo has any hope of rebounding.
Excellent coverage of the yahoo development
Sue thinks reorg is always the solution but not trying to build trust in employees and shareholders. I think they don’t care about brains anymore but just keeping their positions.
What a hell Yahoo!
Odd, isn’t it?
Using those same two words over and over and over again.
Which two?
“Yahoo” and “hopeful”
Yahoo Sucks!
Nothing to see here. I used Yahoo news and Yahoo mail on a daily basis, but they haven’t delivered anything new in years. Flickr and Zimbra are great, but they weren’t developed by them.
I think Yahoo needs to sell or outsource divisions, take the company private, and focus more on the small business-medium business. Adverts on search are for companies that are better at it.