In a move that some pundits argue better arms Yahoo for an all-out media war, the internet giant appointed telecom executive Maggie Wilderotter to its Board of Directors July 27.
The CEO and Chairmen of Citizens Communication, the second-largest local exchange telephone company in the country, Wilderotter has “more than 25 years of experience in telephone, wireless, cable television, computers and interactive media,” according the quote from new CEO and company co-founder Jerry Yang in the press release.
Previous to her time at Yahoo, Wilderotter was SVP of the worldwide public sector division at Microsoft, president and CEO of Wink Communication, EVP of national operations for AT&T Wireless and CEO of AT&T’s Aviation Communications Division. Wilderotter’s knowledge of interactive media is vast, and her insider knowledge of the communications industry has likely not been lost on Yahoo, whose business currently lies mainly within the search and advertising space.
Wilderotter doesn’t just add interactive media expertise to the 12-year-old company, she brings gender diversity to Yahoo’s previously all-male Board of Directors. Still, women have never been far from the spotlight at Yahoo, where its president Susan Decker is considered heir apparent to the media giant’s throne.
This was the first big personnel move by Yang, who replaced Terry Semel as CEO at Yahoo on June 18. The move expands Yahoo’s 10 member Board of Directors by one.