Yahoo! undergoes global restructure

Yahoo! is restructuring its business globally into three operating groups aimed at audiences, advertisers and publishers, as the internet giant battles faster-growing rival Google.

The restructure will see chief operating officer Daniel Rosensweig leave the company in March after five years with Yahoo!. He has been credited with helping to shape the firm’s audience and advertising growth.

Chief financial officer Susan Decker is to head up a new unit focused on advertising, which is Yahoo!’s main source of income. Media, communication and other product groups will be merged into a unit focused on marketing and international businesses.

There will also be an audience group, focused on building audiences and relationships on and off the Yahoo! network, and a technology group. Chief technology officer Farzad Nazem will head the technology group with Yahoo! recruiting for an executive to head up the audience arm.

All three divisions will report into chairman and chief executive Terry Semel, who says the simplified structure is core to seizing “major” new opportunities on the internet and key to growing at a rapid pace.

Semel says: “Our strategy capitalises on big emerging trends and leverages our core strengths in search, media, communities and communications.”

He says that being more customer and technology focused will speed the development of “leading-edge experiences” for customers.

“In turn, we plan to drive growth and profitability by leveraging our deep audience insights to create a full-fledged advertising network,” he adds.

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