SUNNYVALE, Calif., (RPRN) Apr 21, 2009 — Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) announced that Jeff Russakow will join the company on April 24, 2009, as senior vice president of customer advocacy. In this role, Russakow will have global responsibility for all of Yahoo!’s customer support functions, including audience, small business, ad operations, and search network quality. Russakow will report to Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz.
“Jeff has a tremendous track record as a transformational leader, and we’re very excited to have him joining Yahoo! in this critical new role,” said Bartz. “We need to do a better job of listening to Yahoo!’s users and advertisers and incorporating their feedback into our products and processes. Jeff will develop and lead initiatives to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, and he’ll ensure that we’re laser-focused on the needs of all our users and advertisers at every level of our company.”
Before joining Yahoo!, Russakow served in executive management roles at Symantec, including leadership of global enterprise support services, global services product management and solutions engineering, and corporate strategy. While at Symantec, he helped increase customer support satisfaction to record levels. Prior to Symantec, Russakow was vice president of worldwide sales operations and customer support at Adobe Systems. Before that, he served as vice president of strategy and field operations at SAP America. Russakow began his career at McKinsey & Company.
“Yahoo!’s community of users is one of the largest and most engaged in the world, and we have an incredible opportunity to transform their Yahoo! experience,” said Russakow. “I’m excited to join Carol’s management team and I look forward to working with the company’s leaders to unlock all of Yahoo!’s amazing potential.”
Russakow holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Princeton University and master’s and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! is focused on powering its communities of users, advertisers, publishers, and developers by creating indispensable experiences built on trust. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit pressroom.yahoo.com.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5945373〈=en
SOURCE: Yahoo! Inc.
Yahoo! Inc.
Kim Rubey, 408-349-8910
(Media Relations)
krubey@yahoo-inc.com
or
Cathy La Rocca, 408-349-5188
(Investor Relations)
cathy@yahoo-inc.com