Exclusive: Yahoo Mobile VP Michael Shim Headed to Groupon
In the latest executive departure to strike Yahoo, mobile business development VP Michael Shim is leaving the company at the end of the month to join Groupon, Mobilized has learned.
Shim, who has helped Yahoo in its partnerships with mobile carriers and cellphone makers, will head up mobile partnership efforts at Groupon. His departure follows the exit of other top mobile executives in recent years, including Marco Boerries, who left in 2009, and David Ko, who left in October to head mobile at Zynga.
A Yahoo representative confirmed Shim’s planned exit and said that Shim’s boss, Senior VP of Business Development Raymond Stern, will assume Shim’s responsibilities.
The move comes as the local deals market gets increasingly crowded, with both Facebook and Google getting in on the act. Yahoo itself announced a local offers program back in November, while Groupon rival LivingSocial scored a lot of attention and new customers last week with a nationwide deal on Amazon gift cards.
Google offered billions for Groupon, but in the end the company decided to stick it out and is clearly bulking up for a major battle.
Update: 9:47 am PT: Groupon confirmed the move, noting that Shim will be heading its efforts to expand Groupon’s reach on mobile devices, working alongside Mihir Shah, Groupon’s VP of mobile. “We’re thrilled to have him,” a Groupon representative told Mobilized.
