Joey Levin moves from corporate M&A and finance to CEO of Mindspark Interactive Network, the IAC collection of “fun web products” like Zwinky, succeeding John Park, who wants a more entrepreneurial life after a decade with IAC (NSDQ: IACI). Levin was SVP for M&A and finance. On the M&A side, IAC vet Shana Fisher, currently SVP, M&A and strategy, now holds the whole portfolio. Mark Schneider, VP-financial planning & analysis, picks up Levin’s his finance duties and will report directly to CFO Tom McInerney. Release.

Mark Stein, SVP of corporate development, will keep that job but also becomes chief strategy officer of Mindspark to “help drive growth,” as IAC Chairman and CEO Barry Diller put it in a memo to staff (obtained by us and published below but first on BusinessInsider.com); he too has an M&A background. With Levin and Stein’s experience in M&A, it’s hard not to wonder if identifying “growth opportunities” means some acquisitions are on the way—or if IAC is looking at Mindspark as a possible spin-out candidate.

You may not know what Mindspark is but chances are you’ve come across one or more of its brands, which can either intrigue or annoy depending on how much you like cute, interactive icons, virtual worlds or casual games for money. The sites include virtual community Zwinky, cash/prize gaming site IWON, virtual fashion site GirlSense, video sharing site Vimeo, how-to site Life123 and my mom’s still favorite home page, Excite.com.

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Mindspark Business Update
From Barry Diller

I wanted to share some news regarding changes at Mindspark.  John Park, who for more than 10 years has demonstrated a distinct blend of business acumen and creative entrepreneurialism overseeing Mindspark and the launch of brands like Zwinky, Webfetti and MyWebFace, has decided to move on from his role as CEO of Mindspark to further pursue his entrepreneurial spirit outside of IAC. 

Joey Levin will assume the role of CEO of Mindspark. An IAC veteran, Joey has repeatedly shown his strength as a business leader at IAC, with senior roles managing IAC’s Strategic Planning, Finance and M&A practices over the past 6 years.  Having already spent a number of months deeply involved in the strategic oversight and day-to-day operations of Mindspark, I have no doubt Joey will excel as a leader, just as he has done within IAC.

Also joining Joey and the Mindspark team is Mark Stein who has been named Chief Strategy Officer. Currently SVP of Corporate Development for IAC, Mark has tremendous knowledge of the IAC businesses and will be a great asset to help drive growth for Mindspark. He will also retain his corporate role at IAC.  Shana Fisher, who has had a strong hand in IAC’s M&A operation for almost 6 years, in addition to overseeing many of IAC’s strategic planning initiatives, will assume full oversight of IAC’s M&A function.

We thank John for his tremendous passion and leadership at Mindspark over the last 10 years and know that the entrepreneurial spirit that has served him so well at IAC, will lead him to great things with his new endeavors.  I also welcome you to join me in congratulating Joey Levin who will no doubt bring great energy, ideas and inspiration to Mindspark.