14 DAY TRIAL // Yahoo continues its executive restructuring and has hired Penny Baldwin, an ad agency veteran, to manage the brand marketing strategies under the official title of senior vice president of global integrated marketing and brand management. He will be reporting to the also recently appointed Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Elisa Steele.
“One of Yahoo!’s greatest assets is its brand,” said Steele. “Our integrated, global approach is critical to our success and we have a deep business commitment to fulfill our promise to our users, customers and partners. Penny is uniquely qualified to lead the effort and her leadership, experiences, knowledge and skills are excellent additions to the Yahoo! marketing team.”
The move is part of the new marketing and rebranding push rumored to take place sometime in the fall and put forward by the new CEO, Carol Bartz, who has been with Yahoo for only six months. She created the CMO position in March, a job title that had been missing at Yahoo for the previous two years, appointing Elisa Steele to lead the marketing effort. Now Yahoo is consolidating its efforts with the addition of Penny Baldwin, a 20-year veteran of brand marketing and strategy development who more recently served as Managing Partner at leading agencies like Young & Rubicam Brands, Y&R Advertising and Wunderman Direct Marketing.
“This is a seminal moment for the Yahoo! brand and for the business overall,” Baldwin said. “I am delighted to be part of the leadership team that will take Yahoo! to the next level as we evolve our brand strategy worldwide.” The new VP faces a tough challenge ahead of him as Yahoo will go through a big rebranding effort to parallel the massive restructuring already in motion, which saw the closing of many underperforming properties and focusing on a more cohesive set of core services.