When Jim Lanzone took the helm Yahoo In 2021, he saw more than a hereditary web branded by the bad years of corporate -noticed the opportunity. Expert of serial transformation and stints in ASK Jeeves, CBS Interactive, and Tinder under his belt, Lanzone saw Yahoo as “White Whale of Turnaround,” a company with deep roots, loyal users, and a product engine that requires major changes.
“This is my third turn of the top 10 Internet company,” Lanzone said in a unique conversation with Luck In the Cannes Lions. “We had to rebuild the team and company from the ground.”
Now three and a half years being what he calls “multi -phase change -turning back on the invention” –nzone is making a change strategy that touches everything from product development to cultural renewal, all emphasized by simple belief: digital media brand is just as good as the product offers.
Products first, always
At the core of Lanzone's philosophy is a laser attitude towards product quality.
“Everything for a large Internet company must start with the product,” he said.
Yahoo, which is still proud of the leadership of the unit in assets like Yahoo money and Yahoo Dream, has entertaining every major product it offers.
“In the last nine months, every pixel on Yahoo is new,” Lanzone said. “Every single product that we work … is new.”
Only after modifying the user experience, he says, the company can re -create the will for the brand.
“You can't do it until you adjust the product first,” he said. “Especially in a consumer network company where these are living, breathing products that people use every day.”
Yahoo's poaching talent who wanted to 'run towards the fire'
Changes are not closed to users' interactions. Lanzone has changed the Yahoo structure, employing high talent from Silicon Valley-which many of them, like him, did not have a shortage of opportunities elsewhere.
“It surprised how many great people wanted to run towards the fire here in Yahoo,” he said. “We brought a great team and I think it got a lot of trust quickly.”
Among those who jumped were the chief sale officer Josh line, who joined from The great worldby Rob Wilk, the head of the sale of Yahoo users, who left Snap.
That trust was necessary for Yahoo's second act under a private equitable company Apollo Global Managementwhich bought Yahoo from Verizon for less than $ 5 billion in 2021 – a 96% winter reduction from its peak of $ 125 billion.
In addition to being a solar operation, Yahoo has been one of Apollo's quick return deals.
“The playbook here has been a growth,” Lanzone said. “We are creating here – not just trying to give value from part – but creating one Yahoo into a sustainable company, great for the next 30 years.”
How Lanzone Changes the company around
As a product veteran, Lanzone puts data in the center of each decision. “The first thing you look at is the data,” he explained. “Who is using it, how often are they, what do they like about it? What do they hate about it?”
Despite the many stories in Yahoo's corporate story – as well as the mark under Verizon and the attempt to become media and entertainment – the company's basis for the company's users was never shaken.
“What we realized very quickly was that in places we were strong, it was because they were using Yahoo for the same reason they were 30 years ago,” Lanzone said. “We were a reliable guide to the Internet … to help them move around the digital desert.”
Yahoo's original slogan – “always under construction” – has taken a new meaning. “We always have to be coming out,” he said, “but on behalf of our users – not for some corporate reason.”
Gen Z's surprise to dot-com partner
Perhaps the most amazing, even with Lanzone, is the Yahoo activity with young users. “People are surprised that we are at the top 5 and Gen Z,” he said. “Half of our viewers are Gen Z and Millennia.”
At the heart of change is a cultural renewal – one set in the values of the Yahoo base but was changed to the modern era.
In a model movement, Yahoo co -founder Jerry Yang recently returned to speak to the entire hand meeting, strengthening the company's original mission: leading people through the Internet and helping them achieve their goals.
“That was a mission in 1995,” Lanzone said. “It's a mission now.”
To get there, Lanzone believes leadership must be revised and encouraged. “You must bring the older people who share your will for the project,” he said. “People who want to make Yahoo good again.”
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