Who is at the head of yahoo
Executive summary
Jim Lanzone is the chief executive officer and public head of Yahoo, having been named CEO in September 2021 after the company was sold by Verizon to the Apollo private equity group [1] [2]. Lanzone — a longtime digital-media executive with prior CEO roles at Tinder and CBS Interactive — is portrayed by company materials and later reporting as leading a multi-phase turnaround of the brand [3] [4] [5].
1. Who holds the top job at Yahoo today — the short answer
The person at the head of Yahoo is Jim Lanzone, who serves as the company’s CEO; Yahoo’s own “Our Team” page identifies Lanzone as CEO, and major press coverage of the 2021 leadership change reports his appointment to the role [3] [1]. Public reference works and corporate histories covering the period since 2017 likewise list Lanzone among the chief executives of the modern Yahoo entity [2].
2. How Lanzone got there — the corporate context
Lanzone became CEO shortly after Verizon sold its Yahoo/AOL media unit to Apollo Global Management and the business was spun out as a standalone company in 2021, a transition covered in contemporary reporting of the appointment [1]. Company and alumni profiles emphasize his prior executive stints — notably running Tinder and CBS Interactive — as the professional pedigree that positioned him to lead Yahoo under private-equity ownership [3] [4] [1].
3. What the company and press say he’s doing as head of Yahoo
Yahoo’s corporate materials present Lanzone as stewarding a revived portfolio of media and technology brands and building a culture focused on impact and innovation [3]. Independent coverage since then frames his tenure as a “turnaround” effort, describing a multi-phase strategy of rebuilding teams, investing in products and recruiting new talent to modernize Yahoo’s offerings [5] [6].
4. The ownership layer that shapes who “runs” Yahoo
While Lanzone is the operational head of the company, the leadership change took place within the context of Apollo’s acquisition of Verizon Media — a fact noted at the time of his hiring and in company histories — which means private-equity ownership factors into strategic priorities and the broader board/ownership oversight that affect the CEO’s mandate [1] [2]. Reporting and event listings explicitly link Lanzone’s role to navigating Yahoo as an Apollo-owned business [6] [1].
5. Former leaders and why they still appear in the conversation
Marissa Mayer is frequently referenced in contemporary coverage as a former Yahoo CEO whose tenure (and later ventures) remain part of Yahoo’s public narrative; reporting on Mayer’s post‑Yahoo activity and profiles of her time at the company make clear she is a predecessor rather than the current head [7] [8] [9]. Historical timelines and encyclopedic entries reiterate the sequence of leadership changes leading to Lanzone’s appointment [2].
6. What reporting does not resolve and where caution is warranted
Available sources establish Lanzone as Yahoo’s CEO and describe his background and the Apollo sale, but they do not provide a full picture of internal board dynamics, specific compensation or private negotiations that influence executive authority; those details are not contained in the cited company pages and news items and therefore cannot be asserted from the provided reporting [3] [1] [5].