12 posts and columns on Mitch Spolan

Exclusive: Another Longtime Yahoo Ad Sales Dude–This Time, Frank Weishaupt–Departs

in Media on May 12, 2011 at 10:04 am PT

Frank Weishaupt, an 11-year Yahoo advertising veteran and one of its top sales execs, is leaving the Silicon Valley Internet giant. Unlike several other recent departures, where high-ranking execs left for jobs at hot start-ups such as Zynga, Groupon and LivingSocial, Weishaupt has no immediate plans to join another company.

A Day in the Life of a Salesperson on the Front Lines of the Group-Buying Frenzy

in Commerce on May 2, 2011 at 3:30 am PT

Groupon and LivingSocial have ballooned into major corporations over the past year, hiring thousands of local salespeople who try to convince local merchants into participating in the latest fad: group buying. While other sales positions have been hit hard by the recession, it turns out not every one is losing out. The daily deal phenomenon is creating thousands of new sales opportunities–and the hunt is on for trained workers with the contacts and experience.

Another Yahoo SVP Departs–This Time, Techie Cheryl Ainoa

in News on March 10, 2011 at 11:15 am PT

Yahoo is losing another longtime senior exec, this time Cheryl Ainoa, who has been SVP of the company’s Global Service Engineering unit. Ainoa, who was one of Yahoo’s top women executives, announced her resignation to her team earlier this week. She is apparently departing for a job at another Silicon Valley tech company.

Memo Time: Yahoo Reorgs Its Ad Staff, As "The Race" Begins

in News on March 9, 2011 at 6:15 am PT

In the wake of the departures of two top ad execs to social buying sites, the hiring of another from AOL and a whole new sales management team in place, it’s got to be time for a reorg at Yahoo! And so it is, just before the company’s annual sales conference takes place.

Another Yahoo Loves Group Buying, As Top Ad Sales Exec Mitch Spolan Heads to LivingSocial

in News on March 7, 2011 at 10:16 pm PT

Yahoo has lost another one of its top advertising sales execs, Mitch Spolan, to a hot start-up of the moment–this time to LivingSocial. The move by Yahoo’s head of North American field sales is the second major loss by the Silicon Valley Internet portal to a social buying site. Another Yahoo sales lead, Lee Brown, left Yahoo late last year to head sales at Groupon.

Yahoo Restructures U.S. Ad Sales Force–With No New Head (But Apparently a Lot of Princes Charming)

in News on August 2, 2010 at 1:30 pm PT

Yahoo announced today that it was restructuring its advertising sales force, after being without a head of its key U.S. unit since mid-March. Big news: No new top ad sales exec. Instead, several North American sales execs with larger portfolios will report directly to Hilary Schneider, who is in charge of the Americas for Yahoo. “I have kissed a lot of frogs over the years, but it turned out the Prince Charmings we always needed were back at the ranch,” said Schneider.

Help Wanted: So When Is Yahoo Going to Hire a New Head of Ad Sales?

in News on July 6, 2010 at 9:00 am PT

It’s been almost four months since Joanne Bradford stepped down as head of U.S. revenue and market development for Yahoo, and the company has yet to hire a new exec to fill the key job. That’s got a lot of people inside Yahoo a little jumpy, according to numerous sources who have contacted me recently, because of the importance of firm leadership in the premium online ad business in which the Internet giant needs to keep excelling.

Yahoo Finds More Real Estate to Sell: Ads Come to the Login Page

in Media on June 14, 2010 at 8:32 am PT

If Google can decorate its famously pristine homepage, then everything else is fair game too: Yahoo has started renting out its third most popular page to marketers.

Wanted: Online Ad Sales Heads for Both Yahoo and Microsoft

in News on March 24, 2010 at 12:04 pm PT

Even though they are two of the Internet’s largest advertising businesses, both Yahoo and Microsoft are without top execs to lead those units. Worse, both are just entering a complex online ad sales and search partnership together, which will require a lot of management firepower. Yahoo’s main online ad sales head just left and Microsoft has been searching for one for a year now. So, here’s the skinny on who is in the running.

Exclusive: Yahoo's Top Ad Money-Maker Bradford Leaving for New Job at Demand Media

in News on March 15, 2010 at 9:15 am PT

According to several sources, Yahoo’s SVP of U.S. Revenue and Market Development Joanne Bradford is planning on leaving the Internet giant to take a new position as Chief Revenue Officer of online content upstart Demand Media. The surprise move is sure to have reverberations throughout the online advertising arena, but more so at Yahoo, where Bradford’s job encompasses a wide range of key revenue-generating duties. She has also been tapped as one of the execs to play a key role in the recently approved search and online ad partnership with Microsoft.

Top Ad Sales Exec on West Coast Departs Yahoo

in News, August 17, 2009 at 8:37 am PT

Yahoo Hires Adobe Vet Lamkin to Run Communications and Communities Unit as Dietzen Moves to Strategy Post

in News, April 24, 2009 at 11:43 pm PT