Yahoo has officially named a new CEO as the company charts a new era outside of Verizon.
Effective September 27, Tinder Chief Executive Jim Lanzone will take over the responsibility of leading the storied internet brand, succeeding Guru Gowrappan, who has been named Senior Advisor to Apollo’s private equity business.
Lanzone is currently the CEO of Tinder, but before taking over leadership of the Match Group-owned dating app he served as CBS’s Chief Digital Officer and CEO of CBS Interactive. His roles at the media and entertainment giant placed him in charge of 30+ digital media brands as well as the development of the company’s first major streaming services.
Lanzone will harness his more than two decades of technology and media industry experience to lead the internet and media company through an upcoming transformational phase.
At the start of September, Apollo its deal to acquire Verizon Media, which included Yahoo and AOL, for $5 billion. Moving forward, Yahoo will heavily invest in improving its user experience and develop new offerings centered around sports, finance, news, and technology.
“With our unique assets, resources, and lineage, we are one of the few companies positioned to tap into the many new opportunities appearing in the categories where we’re strongest,” Lanzone . “I cannot wait to hit the ground running with the Yahoo leadership team and Apollo to help grow the business exponentially in the years ahead.”
Yahoo’s news platform has found new life on TikTok, and has become one of the news organizations on the viral short-form video platform with n followers and a bio that reads “Yes, we still exist.”