Another Exec Bites The Yahoo Dust

Another executive is fleeing Yahoo for BermanBraun, the six-month-old brainchild of former Yahoo Media Group head Lloyd Braun and ex-Paramount Pictures president Gail Berman. Mike Weetman, presently CFO of Yahoo's Network division, is scheduled to assume the position of chief operating officer at BermanBraun in about two weeks.

The news, reported Wednesday by D: All Things Digital's Kara Swisher, comes less than a month after BermanBraun appointed Geraldine Martin-Coppola, formerly director of strategy at Yahoo Media Group, as its new head of interactive.

Yahoo did not return press inquiries regarding Weetman's departure, and Weetman could not be contacted independently regarding the move.

One of a growing number of "ministudios" popping up to produce content for a new media age, BermanBraun boasts a multi-platform strategic alliance with NBC Universal Television, and recently signed an agreement giving Pepsi a first-look to support and sponsor original entertainment content.

A company adrift, Yahoo has suffered defection after defection despite major reorganizations. In June, it implemented another in a series of shake-ups, which led to the ouster of CEO Terry Semel and left co-founder Jerry Yang and former executive vice president Sue Decker at Yahoo's helm.

One of Yahoo's key challenges, as outlined by Yang, was the "competition for our talent," which has resulted in company-wide attrition over the last year, including the loss of senior management personnel.

On the marketing side, Yahoo lost nine-year veteran Jerry Shereshewsky in late July to Grandparents.com, where he took the role of CEO.

Earlier, in May, Yahoo's chief technology officer Zod Nazem, an 11-year veteran of the company, announced his retirement.

Also in May, Yahoo exec Lorna Borenstein was named president of Move, Inc., which operates REALTOR.com. Borenstein previously held a number of executive positions at Yahoo including vice president, product for Yahoo's strategy on youth and education, global vice president and general manager of Yahoo Personals and vice president, marketing of Yahoo Search & Marketplace Group, where she was responsible for leading all marketing strategy and initiatives.

Yahoo named Weetman to head financial operations for its media group in June of last year. Previously, Weetman led the finance and business development department at DreamWorks Worldwide Home Entertainment, and served as senior vice president of finance and credit for 20th Century Fox's domestic home entertainment division, as well as vice president of planning and finance for EMI North America.

The previous big shake-up at Yahoo occurred in Dec. 2006 when its chief operating officer Dan Rosensweig and media group head Braun left the company amidst difficulty in several areas, including ad growth, acquisitions, and original content initiatives.

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