Former Yahoo exec to head Microsoft Online Services; Former aQuantive chief quits

Microsoft's search for a leader for its beleaguered Online Systems business is over and at least one of its top execs seemingly is none too happy with the results.

Microsoft announced Thursday, as reported previously by AllThingsD, that the new head of the company's Online Services Group will be Qi Lu.  The Redmondians also announced that Brian McAndrews-- Microsoft's Senior Vice President of the company's Advertiser and Publisher Group, and former CEO of Microsoft acquisition aQuantive -- has decided to leave Microsoft.

Given the way Microsoft announced McAndrews' departure on December 4, it looks as if McAndrews was expecting to get the top search and advertising slot at the company, which was vacated by Kevin Johnson earlier this year.

Lu is a former Yahoo who resigned from that company in August 2008. Most recently, Lu was executive vice president of Engineering for the Search and Advertising Technology Group at Yahoo, "where he was responsible for development efforts around Yahoo’s Web search and monetization platforms," according to Microsoft officials.

McAndrews will be transitioning out of Microsoft over the next several months. His replacement is former Microsoft advertising exec Scott Howe, who is being promoted to corporate Vice President of the Advertiser & Publisher Solutions business. Satya Nadella will stay on as head of the Online Systems Gorup's Research and Development unit and Yusuf Mehdi will continue as Senior Vice President of Microsoft's Online Audience Business.

Lu's first day at Microsoft will be January 5, 2009.

Lu is the second high-level Yahoo exec to join Microsoft in the past couple of weeks.  Microsoft announced at the end of November that former Yahoo Search VP Sean Suchter was joining the company.