{"id":337840,"date":"2021-09-10T22:59:48","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T19:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/apollo-group-taps-tinder-ceo-as-whiplashed-employees-hold-their-breath\/"},"modified":"2021-09-10T22:59:48","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T19:59:48","slug":"apollo-group-taps-tinder-ceo-as-whiplashed-employees-hold-their-breath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/apollo-group-taps-tinder-ceo-as-whiplashed-employees-hold-their-breath\/","title":{"rendered":"#Apollo Group taps Tinder CEO as whiplashed employees hold their breath"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Apollo Group taps Tinder CEO as whiplashed employees hold their breath<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>After a revolving door of CEOs, strategies and even names over the past decade, Yahoo <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media<\/a> employees are hoping this time it\u2019s a match.<\/p>\n<p>Apollo Global Management, which bought Yahoo from Verizon Media in a $5 billion deal that closed last week, named Tinder Chief Executive Officer Jim Lanzone as the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20210910005121\/en\/Jim-Lanzone-to-Join-Yahoo-as-Chief-Executive-Officer\">new head of Yahoo<\/a> on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Some employees are \u201cquietly rejoicing\u201d over Lanzone\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ointment, a person with knowledge of the matter told The Post. \u201cFinally someone who knows media,\u201d another employee said of Lanzone taking on the role of CEO.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But when Lanzone \u2014 who will replace current Yahoo chief Guru Gowrappan on Sept. 27 \u2014 starts his new role, he\u2019ll be greeted by a workforce of 9,000 that is largely whiplashed by changing strategies and multiple owners over the past decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Employees are fearful of the private equity firm\u2019s reputation for cost-cutting \u2014 and some have already left in anticipation of the cuts, employees with knowledge of the matter say.<\/p>\n<p>But at least some employees of Yahoo \u2014 previously known as Verizon Media and prior to that, Oath \u2014 are taking the appointment of Lanzone as a hopeful sign. They say it\u2019s an indication Apollo will actually invest in the conglomeration of web assets that include the faded but still traffic-driving Yahoo websites.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/jim-lanzone-02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Jim Lanzone\" class=\"wp-image-19414885\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/jim-lanzone-02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/jim-lanzone-02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/jim-lanzone-02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>\u201cI know change is hard, especially when we\u2019re separated physically, and lord knows you\u2019ve all seen your fair share of it\u2026 there\u2019s every reason to be optimistic for the future,\u201d Lanzone wrote to employees Friday.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In a statement to The Post after Lanzone\u2019s appointment, Apollo partner Reed Rayman emphasized the private equity firm wanted to position Yahoo for \u201clong-term success.\u201d He called Yahoo\u2019s existing employee base \u201ctalented.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApollo made its investment in Yahoo to strategically grow the business, expanding and enhancing the user experience across some of the industry\u2019s best-known brands,\u201d Rayman said.<\/p>\n<p>Still, since the Apollo acquisition was announced in May, some of Yahoo\u2019s top talent \u2014 which owns properties including Yahoo, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a>, TechCrunch, Engadget, Autoblog and AOL \u2014 already jumped ship.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>Prominent departures in the last month include Yahoo Finance anchor Kristin Myers, Yahoo Finance reporter Jenna McLaughlin, Yahoo Finance reporter Myles Udland and top Autoblog and Engadget honcho Adam Morath.<\/p>\n<p>In a memo to employees Friday morning obtained by The Post, Lanzone appeared to seek to allay fears by emphasizing he plans to make investments, not cuts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany of you have worked together for a long time,\u00a0have been incredibly successful doing it and have well thought-out plans in place to grow our brands from here,\u201d he said in the memo. He said he wasn\u2019t looking to \u201ccreate change for the sake of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some people close to Apollo have told The Post the private equity giant is \u201cclearly going to gut all the businesses.\u201d Yahoo is \u201cripe for radical cost-cutting,\u201d the people said.<\/p>\n<p>But people with direct knowledge of the matter counter that narrative and say the private equity firm wants to drive revenue growth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJim Lanzone is the beginning of a real resurgence for Yahoo,\u201d a person close to Apollo told The Post. \u201cThe worst thing Apollo could do is s<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a> the business to the bones.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>People close to Apollo say the firm believes it can grow revenue by investing in higher-quality content. The firm will hire new people to create new verticals, or sites focused on specific content areas. One already successful vertical, Yahoo Finance, could even become the \u201cBloomberg for retail investors,\u201d a person familiar said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/apollo-yahoo-03.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"yahoo signage\" class=\"wp-image-19413210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/apollo-yahoo-03.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/apollo-yahoo-03.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/apollo-yahoo-03.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Verizon gets to keep a 10 percent stake and $750 million worth of preferred stock in Yahoo as part of the deal.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Alamy Stock Photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Yahoo declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>To be sure, private equity firms are known for mass layoffs and sometimes brutal cost-cutting. And it\u2019s possible Apollo could be planning to cut headcount at Yahoo.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At Rackspace, a company Apollo purchased in 2016, it\u2019s been one<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cloudcomputing-news.net\/news\/2021\/jul\/27\/rackspace-to-lay-off-10-of-workforce-and-replace-majority-offshore\/\"> round of layoffs<\/a> after another. Within months of the acquisition, Apollo fired 6 percent of employees and has subsequently laid off around 100 to 200 employees every year since then. In July, Rackspace announced it was cutting an additional 10 percent from the workforce.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>People with knowledge of the matter see the close of the Yahoo deal as an inevitable end to a business model they believe never made sense \u2014 run by non-media owners who never \u201cgot\u201d the media business.<\/p>\n<p>Verizon, which completed the $4.48 billion Yahoo acquisition in 2017 said at the time the deal would give the media company scale Yahoo lacked on its own. Verizon CEO Tim Armstrong, who joined the Yahoo properties with AOL and, in a move widely mocked, rebranded the properties \u201cOath,\u201d said: \u201cThe strategy behind the deal is to really go after mobile and video and a lot of the global services \u2014 the services that AOL has and Yahoo has \u2014 at scale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yahoo management said they hoped to compete on the digital ad front with the likes of Google and Facebook. But since that time, the idea of merging content with distribution has been largely deemed a failure \u2013 as the dissolution of AT&amp;T and Time Warner illustrated.<\/p>\n<p>For Verizon, which had a market capitalization of $215 billion in 2017 (its market cap is now $227 billion), it was a relatively low-stakes bet. And it didn\u2019t take long for the company to admit it was a failure: In a 2018<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/Archives\/edgar\/data\/732712\/000073271218000060\/a12-118xk.htm\"> filing with the SEC<\/a>, Verizon reported, the deal had yielded lower-than-expected benefits.<\/p>\n<p>That tie-up followed an effort by former wunderkind Marissa Mayer, who Yahoo brought in from Google in 2012. She laid out a vision of Yahoo providing \u201ca feed of information that is ordered \u2013 a web, ordered for you, [that] is also available on your mobile phone.\u201d The vision flopped and she left the company in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, some employees say they\u2019ve been caught in the crosshairs of the changing priorities. After the Verizon merger closed in 2017, Verizon fired 2,100 employees. Verizon has continued to<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/information-technology\/2019\/12\/verizon-lays-off-another-150-people-in-struggling-yahooaol-division\/\"> ax people since then<\/a>, according to numerous reports.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/apollo-yahoo-01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"apollo website\" class=\"wp-image-19413841\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/apollo-yahoo-01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/apollo-yahoo-01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/apollo-yahoo-01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>In a statement today, Apollo doubled down on its commitment to Yahoo, saying it \u201cintends to invest significantly in the user experience and develop exciting new offerings that can build on its premier brands in sports, finance, news, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> and more.\u201d<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Alamy Stock Photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Former journalists at Verizon\u2019s media conglomerate tell The Post that Verizon never had any business owning news sites, but that management <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly stayed out of the way of how news was run. They aren\u2019t hopeful that Apollo has any better formula. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving all these brands under one roof never made sense,\u201d one former editorial employee told The Post. \u201cIt never made sense when AOL was running it or when Verizon was running it \u2026 why would it work when Apollo is running it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Apollo running the businesses, some insiders expect the private equity firm eventually to chop up the business into pieces, hold onto Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Sports, and sell the other assets.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s indeed what Lanzone is said to be looking at when it comes to Yahoo\u2019s properties, according to the Wall Street Journal.\u00a0 On Friday, the Journal reported Lanzone plans to build out Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Sports \u2014 as well as the company\u2019s ad-tech business.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rich Greenfield, LightShed Partners analyst and partner emphasized one of the most compelling parts of Yahoo is its fantasy sports leagues. He commented to The Post before the news of Lanzone\u2019s appointment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey have a large group of passionate sports fans and it would make a great on ramp to sports betting \u2014 that would be the most obvious thing for them to do.\u201d The sports betting industry \u2014 which brings in well over $100 billion annually \u2014 is expected to be<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/global-sports-betting-market-to-be-worth-us-179-3-billion-by-2028-with-cagr-of-8-33-during-2021-to-2028--zion-market-research-301370184.html\"> worth nearly $180 billion<\/a> by 2028.<\/p>\n<p>Yahoo Finance \u2014 which offers data on various stocks \u2014 also gets ample traffic and ad revenue. But those divisions have been facing internal angst that could complicate the takeover.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In recent months the remote working has left people feeling isolated and frustrated, multiple journalists tell The Post. And some say a \u201ctone-deaf\u201d stance of executives has added to the ill feelings, former employees tell The Post.<\/p>\n<p>Following Apollo\u2019s completion of the Yahoo Media merger last week, Yahoo executives sent out a company wide memo telling employees they would get that Friday \u2014 Sept. 3 \u2014 off from work in appreciation of all they\u2019d done.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Employees in the news division took that memo as a slap in the face: Their sites couldn\u2019t exactly take the day off from the news.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/09\/10\/its-a-new-yahoo-again-apollo-group-taps-tinder-ceo-as-whiplashed-employees-hold-their-breath\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Apollo Group taps Tinder CEO as whiplashed employees hold their breath&#8221; After a revolving door of CEOs, strategies and even names over the past decade, Yahoo Media employees are hoping this time it\u2019s a match. Apollo Global Management, which bought Yahoo from Verizon Media in a $5 billion deal that closed last week, named Tinder&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":337841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/apollo-yahoo-hp2.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[115736,40445,70584,72868,73819],"class_list":["post-337840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-9-10-21","tag-media","tag-mergers-acquisitions","tag-private-equity","tag-yahoo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}