Comments
Yahoo has announced the appointment of Tinder Chief Executive Officer Jim Lanzone as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective September 27, 2021.
Lanzone will succeed Guru Gowrappan, who has been named Senior Advisor to Apollo’s private equity business.
The move comes around four months after Verizon had announced that it would sell Yahoo to Apollo Management Group for $5 billion. Apollo completed the acquisition of Yahoo, formerly Verizon Media on September 1.
“With the close of the transaction, Yahoo will now operate as a standalone company under Apollo Funds,” it had said in an official release.
Verizon has retained a 10 per cent stake in Yahoo.
Previous roles
Prior to his stint as CEO of the dating app Tinder, Lanzone had led the digital operations of CBS Corporation as Chief Digital Officer and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Interactive. He had joined CBS after its acquisition of Clicker Media in 2011, where he was co-founder and CEO. He served in multiple executive roles at search engine Ask.com, including as CEO after the company’s acquisition by IAC/InterActiveCorp from 2001 to 2008. Lanzone is also a member of the board of directors of GoPro.
“I am so honoured to have the opportunity to lead Yahoo and represent such an iconic portfolio of brands as we enter a transformational new era for the company,” said Lanzone.
“I look forward to working with the exceptionally talented Yahoo team, globally, as we create and innovate daily on behalf of our millions of users and advertising partners worldwide,” he added.
“I could not be prouder of the growth that our team has accomplished in the last three years under the Verizon brand,” said Gowrappan.
“Now as a standalone company, Yahoo is well positioned to continue to capitalise on key expansion opportunities and I am confident that Jim, Apollo and the entire Yahoo team will work together seamlessly to build on this momentum,” Gowrappan added.
“Lanzone joins Yahoo as it looks to accelerate the growth of its iconic properties as a privately held company backed by Apollo,” the company said in an official release.
Develop new offerings
Yahoo further added that the company intends to invest significantly in user experience and develop new offerings that can build on its premier brands in sports, finance, news, technology etc.
“Jim has a remarkable track record of leading and growing innovative businesses in our industry, and we are thrilled to welcome him on board. With his experience and proven management skills, we are confident Jim is the right leader to steward Yahoo through a transformational new phase that can leverage the best of Yahoo’s platform and performance to reach new heights,” said Yahoo Chairman and Apollo Partner, Reed Rayman.
“We also want to thank Guru for his significant contributions to the company, passing the baton following three consecutive quarters of double-digit growth. We look forward to working with him in his new capacity as an advisor to Apollo,” Rayman added.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.