People Moves

Yahoo hires Kathy Savitt as CMO

Yahoo has appointed social commerce website Lockerz founder and chief executive Kathy Savitt as its new chief marketing officer, effective September 14.

Savitt moves to the role from Lockerz, which she founded in 2009. Prior to that, she was executive vice-president and chief marketing officer of American Eagle Outfitters and a senior executive at Amazon.

She takes over the role from Mollie Spilman, who had stepped into the role in the interim following the departure of Yahoo’s chief marketing officer Elisa Steele at the end of last year.

In this role, Savitt will be responsible for all of Yahoo’s worldwide marketing and brand efforts, as well as leading the global communications team.

The appointment is among the first of those made by Yahoo’s recently-appointed chief executive Marissa Mayer, who joined the company in July.

Mayer took over as chief executive after Scott Thompson left the helm after just four months amid allegations that he lied about his qualifications on his CV.

“[Kathy’s] extensive experience in building and refining well-loved consumer brands like Amazon, American Eagle Outfitters and Lockerz will be incredibly valuable as we define Yahoo’s future,” says Mayer.

Jenni Baker, London