Ross Levinsohn has been assigned the task of turning around Yahoo. He is currently the CEO of Guggenheim Digital Media and an executive committee member at Time Warner. Before that, he was a reporter for Sports Illustrated CEO and worked for Walt Disney Co. and Time Inc. He is also a board member at Interpublic Group’s Deutsch. He spent years with Turner Broadcasting System Inc., leading Turner’s sales force and launching Turner Sports, the company’s ad sales division that books sport marketing rights deal with teams and leagues such as Major League Baseball and the NCAA basketball tournament. Levinsohn joined Turner in 2001 as general manager of Sports Interactive, a division of Full Screen Media, the parent company of PC-Magazine. He was promoted to vice president and general manager at Full Screen Media in 2002 and executive vice president of the division in 2003. He has also served as an executive committee member of Time Warner Inc.
Levinsohn, who will replace interim CEO of Yahoo, Ross Levinsohn, is confident he can turn around the company. He said, “I’m proud to be joining the team at Yahoo! and look forward to partnering with Tim, David and the entire management team on a strategic plan that will continue Yahoo!’s global leadership position.” The company is at a pivotal point. Microsoft has made an all-cash offer of $41 per share to acquire the struggling search leader. The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
Analysts say his biggest challenge will be to restore confidence in Yahoo’s brand and employees. Sports Illustrated CEO Terry McDonell called him “highly creative, results-oriented and an excellent leader.”In a note, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney said that Levinsohn is a “strong, credible Yahoo! CEO choice.”
Levinsohn’s relationship with Chief Yahoo Officer Ann Mather goes back several years. He first met her when she was overseeing Pixar at Disney. He even interviewed her for Sports Illustrated in 2001 when she left Pixar to become president of Disney Feature Animation.
Ross Levinsohn is the older brother of Hollywood writer Paul Levinsohn, who writes the scripts for “Hannah Montana” and “Wizards of Waverly Place.”