Yahoo poaches PayPal executives for new commerce unit
Yahoo has hired two PayPal executives --- one former and one current ---to build up its new commerce group, as the ailing, once darling of the Web seeks to reignite the company's growth.
Thompson hired former PayPal executive Sam Shrauger, and Mollie Spilman, a current PayPal executive, to run the division. Both will be named as senior vice-presidents of the unit, and report directly to the chief executive.
The commerce unit is one of three units that will roll into Yahoo's consumer products division in the company reshuffle that takes effect on May 1. It includes existing Yahoo products, such as job listings, retail, and jobs, but will also offer unspecified "new offerings", the company said ominously.
Former PayPal president and current Yahoo chief executive Scott Thompson recently announced that 2,000 jobs would go at the struggling Internet company --- around 15 percent of the workforce --- as it shifts focus away from marketing to advertising.
Yahoo's reshuffle gives the company space to grow into three areas: geographic regions, technology, and consumer focus.
The restructuring came as no surprise, with leaks the week leading to the cuts suggesting many more could go. Warning that the company may "double down" by hiring again in the coming months, Yahoo is already bidding for its comeback.
Yahoo announces its first-quarter financials later today.
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