Yahoo appoints Elisa Steele as chief marketing officer
25 Mar 2009
Silicon Valley marketing veteran Elisa Steele has been appointed as Yahoo's new chief marketing officer. The appointment is part of the Internet giant's push to boost its brand globally.
Steele was earlier with NetApp, a Silicon Valley-based provider of storage systems. There she led corporate marketing, including brand strategy and corporate relations.
As the CMO at Yahoo, Steele will lead brand marketing, corporate communications, public policy and community affairs.
Prior to joining NetApp in 2005, Steele spent nearly five years at Sun Microsystems, leading its marketing group. Her prior experience includes management roles at iPlanet eCommerce Solutions, JavaSoft and AT&T.
Yahoo has been without a CMO since October 2007, when Cammie Dunaway resigned.
Yahoo is trying hard to define itself from its portal roots as the Internet world has shifted to search and social media.
Yahoo has pulled back on its advertising in recent years. Its most recent brand campaign was in 2007, when its "Be a better..." push promoted how Yahoo could improve people's lives in different ways.
