LookSmart, of San Francisco, on Wednesday appointed Damian E. Smith, previously CEO of LookSmart Australia, as the interim CEO of the company after Jason Kellerman stepped down from the top position. The companys board of directors has begun a CEO search.
LookSmart has undergone a major restructuring following news in October that Microsofts MSN division would be dropping LookSmarts paid search listings. The MSN contract, which accounted for about 65 percent of LookSmarts search listings revenue, ended as of Jan. 15.
LookSmart is in the middle of cutting more than half it employees to reach a total of about 200. LookSmart also has shuttered its United Kingdom operation and sold its Australia operation to directory company Sensis, a division of telecommunications company Telstra Ltd.
LookSmart plans to announce its full fourth quarter 2003 results on Feb. 5, but on Wednesday it said that preliminary results were stronger than the expected revenues of between $43 million and $45 million for the quarter ended Dec. 30.