Update: This story is now confirmed.
One thing MySpace has is a lot of holes in the executive ranks. Founding CEO Chris DeWolfe has been hurriedly replaced by Owen Van Natta (our thoughts on that are well known). Cofounder and President Tom Anderson is having “discussions” about “assuming a new role in the organization.” And last month three of the top (and most capable) execs (COO, SVP Product Strategy and VP Technology) left to start their own company. More MySpace execs will soon be leaving, voluntarily or not, as Van Natta fills the gaps and adds loyal lieutenants.
The first announcement will likely be a replacement for the COO spot, who will be the no. 2 exec at MySpace. A number of current MySpace execs are hoping for the job, particularly Jeff Berman, president of sales and marketing. But our understanding is that the COO spot is definitely going to an outsider.
The most likely candidate, we’ve heard from sources, is former AOL exec Mike Jones. Jones’ company, Userplane, was acquired by AOL in late 2006. And Jones worked closely with former AOL boss Jonathan Miller, who is now overseeing all of News Corp.’s digital assets, including MySpace.
Jones is a well respected executive who has proven product experience (something sorely lacking at MySpace). If he joins, he’ll likely become a valuable asset to the company. He’s a smart pick if MySpace can get him, and frankly would have been a much better choice for the CEO spot than Van Natta.
Like Van Natta, though, Jones already has a day job. He left AOL to start Tsavo in August 2008. Tsavo was in the news again this last February.
News Corp. hasn’t responded to a request for comment, nor will they. More surprising, Jones, who is a personal friend, hasn’t taken any of my 15 calls today, or responded to voicemails or emails. That means he is either on an airplane, or he’s avoiding me like the plague. My guess is this is real.
A lot of executives are moving around in the social web scene. Is there something wrong with these companies or what? They are getting scared from Facebook?
people who’ve worked for Jon Miller in the past are extremely loyal to him, which may explain this. Frankly, he’d make a much better CEO than van natta.
Michael, how is Myspace relates to FIM?
is he reporting to FIM or news corp?
News Corp. is the public parent company. FIM is a division of News Corp., MySpace is a division of FIM. FIM is likely being dissolved at this point though.
well looks like the mass killing has started.. bye bye “IN” group. Looks like this spring cleaning will go all the way down to the bottom layer.
What would Mike do with Tsavos then? He’s a really cool, very connected guy. It’d bring a lot to MySpace.
Umm… Dude, Mike, Where you going.. Tsavo is the shit.
I just went to Tsavo – it told me that it delivered content specifically tailored to me. It then showed me pictures of a woman being abducted, Curious George, and Sarah Silverman. I’m not sure what they’re trying to tell me, but I don’t think it’s good.
Who is Mike Jones? WHOOO
rumor or not, mike is the man and myspace would be lucky to land him. he’d be a huge asset.
Congrats to Mike. He’d make a great addition to MySpace and with Jason Oberfest as SVP Biz Dev they’ve got a really strong team developing over there. Look forward to more announcements.
Van Nawtaa CEO?
The question that should be being asked is: Should Mike have been chosen as CEO over Van Natta?
OMG OMG OMG I thought Mike might be involved in this tumult.
I’d totally be begging him for a job right now, ‘cept I have a shitty attitude and no work ethic.
Check out how much traffic he’s gotten for his network of sites in a few short months.
http://www.quan....com/daymix.com
dat’s nice…LOL
I like Mike a lot!
Well he’s too lucky to be the second.
The real question is whether Jonathan Miller is a “winner” and secondly, whether the further AOL-ification of MySpace is simply going to result in MySpace becoming as irrelevant as AOL has become.
On another note, Michael I’d like to get your views and official Techcrunch policy on the shameless affiliate linking that Sara Lacy demonstrates in her last article. Leaving aside the fact that the article itself is a total wreck and bereft of any real information, it strikes me that Lacy is piggybacking on Techcrunch traffic to drive sales of her book. This doesn’t reflect well on Techcrunch or your stellar reputation as a source of objective and well researched information.
So the guy that got fired from AOL hires the guy that got fired from Facebook and they together hire a guy from AOL who started a company with 35K uniques?
Sounds like a winning team!
Mike better not be leaving Tsavo… or I’m going to have to try to follow him to *gulp* Myspace.
AWESOME leader and guy.
I have 1.5 years with Jon Miller. He is a smart guy and wants to do well. I would never call him a hardcore Internet person nor do I think he has one iota of product savvy in his body, which is why I believe he will fail at this job.
Jon Miller is perfect as the #2 or #3 role behind a financial engineering-style gig, such as what he did for Barry Diller. He is NOT good at real operating roles because he fundamentally doesn’t get products or trends.
So, let me get this: Mike Jones is in the middle of failing in his current start-up so Miller is going to reward him? That sounds good.
America on Myspace, great.
Wow, because AOL was able to execute so well….
Mike is one of the few folks who knows product and how to build it — with a low ego….rare…good decision by Jon — Mike’s userplane was well ahead of its time and well executed when AOL bought it…his DNA will add a lot ot myspace who desparately needs product revitalization…
It is great hiring Congrats to Mike. He’d make a great addition to My Space and with Jason Oberfest as SVP Biz Dev they’ve got a really strong team developing over there. Look forward to more announcements