Yahoo’s new CEO has implemented a management restructuring, as the company continues to struggle in a search market dominated by Google.
CEO Carol Bartz said the changes make the structure simpler and will let Yahoo make speedier decisions and focus better on customers.
The changes include combining the Tech and Product groups into a new group lead by Ari Balogh, who will be executive vice president and CTO. He’ll report directly to Bartz and will be responsible for overseeing the vision, strategy and quality of all Yahoo products.
The company will also be divided into two regions. North America will be led by Hilary Schneider and an international head will be hired soon. They’ll also report directly to Bartz.
David Ko will report to Schneider and head the mobile business, strategy and monetization teams. In addition, all product teams will be responsible for mobilizing their products.
Yahoo has also created a chief marketing officer role, which will be filled by Elisa Steele, a new hire. She’ll be responsible for overseeing global marketing.
The company will also build a new Customer Advocacy group designed to listen to customers and incorporate their feedback into products. Yahoo still needs to hire someone to head that team.
Another new group will be Service Engineering and Operations, tasked with building common technology services and responsible for application management and infrastructure. David Dibble will run the group.
Yahoo also said that after a transition period, Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen will leave the company. Yahoo has already begun looking for a replacement.
The departures follow a recent Wall Street Journal blog post citing unnamed sources that described an impending major reorganization of the company’s executive ranks.
In mid-January, Bartz replaced Jerry Yang who stepped down from his role as CEO in November under heavy criticism for his handling of a Microsoft acquisition offer and the collapse of a search partnership with Google. With the appointment of Bartz, President Sue Decker announced she’d leave the company after a transition period.