Exclusive: Yahoo Exec Churn Continues, With Media Head Pitaro Ready to Bolt

Last week at a Goldman Sachs (GS) investment conference, voluble Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz tried to minimize the impact of the recent spate of significant executive departures at the Internet giant.

But, she noted: “There are a few more we’re going to lose.”

And Bartz is right–according to several sources with knowledge of the situation, Yahoo’s well-liked VP of Media, Jimmy Pitaro (pictured here), is expected to be leaving the company soon.

Rumors around Pitaro’s departure have been swirling inside and outside Yahoo, especially this week. Bartz and other execs are still trying hard to keep Pitaro, but sources said his departure would likely be to another company.

If he goes, it will certainly be a loss for Yahoo (YHOO). Pitaro is a longtime veteran and experienced digital-media exec, and he has run a number of its key media properties, such as Sports.

He now presides over all its other powerful media properties, such as News and Finance. Pitaro reports to David Ko, Yahoo’s U.S. Audience head.

Pitaro follows a number of key Yahoo execs out the door recently, either via changes in structure or because of increasing dissatisfaction with management and the company’s moribund stock price.

Adding Pitaro to the pile will only increase pressure on Bartz, as well as U.S. SVP Hilary Schneider, to show investors that the Silicon Valley icon has a clear and innovative plan amidst the executive turmoil.

Yahoo declined to comment.

Here is a recent video interview BoomTown did with Pitaro at Yahoo’s Santa Monica, Calif., offices, about a blog called The Upshot, an effort to delve deeper into the new push to determine content selections based on search: