Once I confirmed the time of the Yahoo executive meeting, I was pretty sure the reorg would be announced while we were in the middle of our NYC mixer and that’s exactly how it came down. For now, the outline: Yahoo will be reorganized into three divisions: Advertiser & Publisher Group, headed by now-CFO Sue Decker; Audience Group; Technology headed by CTO Farzad Nazem. CFO Dan Rosensweig will leave in March; Decker will stay as CFO until a replacement is found. Release. More to come.
Some highlights from the press release:
—Yahoo Marketplaces stays with Decker as part of the new Advertiser & Publisher Group.
—The changes in leadership are effective Jan. 1. The reorg is expected to be completed by the end of 1Q07.
—The new CFO and other corporate functions, including corporate development, legal affairs, human resources and corporate communications will report to CEO Terry Semel.
FT: Semel said he would conduct a four-week review of other management positions, adding: “We have great bench strength in the company, but at the same time I want to leave the door open to bringing in more talent.”
Update: More on Rosensweig in Semel’s official blog post, where he’s described as “one of the key architects of our new structure.” Essentially, the new structure turns Semel into his own COO, following Disney’s Bob Iger, among others.