Yahoo Names Google’s Barrett As Chief Revenue Officer

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO), owner of the most popular U.S. Internet portal, has appointed Google (GOOG) Inc.’s Michael Barrett as chief revenue officer as the company looks for new areas of growth under interim leader Ross Levinsohn.

Barrett will be responsible for advertising revenue and operations globally, Yahoo said in a statement. Barrett, who will report directly to Levinsohn, was chief executive officer of AdMeld, acquired by Google last year for about $400 million.

Levinsohn took the position of interim CEO last month after Scott Thompson resigned following an inquiry into errors in his academic record. Thompson had come on board in January after his predecessor, Carol Bartz, was fired from her job amid Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo’s struggles to keep pace with online digital advertising rivals Google and Facebook Inc. (FB)

“Barrett is regarded as one of the most successful and influential executives in media and technology,” Levinsohn said in the statement. “His deep industry experience and relationships will help us drive our strategic vision.”according to Bloomberg.

Barrett, who will join in July, helped lead Google’s integration of AdMeld, a provider of technology services to Web publishers for managing online advertising. Barrett, who joined AdMeld in 2008, previously was executive vice president at News Corp.’s Fox Interactive Media, according to the statement. He worked closely with Levinsohn, a former president of Fox Interactive Media, the company said. Barrett also held earlier positions at AOL Inc. and Yahoo.