executive

Twitter CEO Evan Williams steps down

Twitter co-founder Evan Williams has stepped down from his role as CEO of the company, according to a post he authored Monday on Twitter's official blog. Dick Costolo, currently serving as chief operating officer, has taken over, effective immediately; Williams will focus on product strategy.

Williams, already well known in the tech industry for having sold Blogger parent company Pyra Labs to Google in 2003, had co-founded Twitter in 2006 with Biz Stone and Jack Dorsey. Initially, Dorsey served as CEO; he stepped aside almost exactly two years ago, and Williams took over. Dorsey is now on the executive … Read more

Microsoft promotes three to division president

Microsoft has chosen to fill its executive vacancies from within, elevating three current business unit heads to president of their respective divisions.

In a statement this morning, the company said it is naming Kurt DelBene to head the Microsoft Office Division, Don Mattrick to head the Interactive Entertainment Business, and Andy Lees to head the Mobile Communications Business, effectively leaving things as they have been following the departure of Stephen Elop (who was named Nokia CEO last month) and the announced retirement of Robbie Bach.

"One key to Microsoft's success over the years has been our ability to … Read more

HP opens its checkbook for Apotheker

The new CEO of Hewlett-Packard is a Silicon Valley outsider both literally and figuratively. As a result, the board of directors is paying a bit extra for its decision to hire him.

Documents filed with the SEC today reveal that HP is paying Léo Apotheker $4.6 million to cover his moving costs from France, where he currently resides, to somewhere a bit more convenient to the company's Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters.

Besides moving costs, the documents revealed Apotheker's entire compensation package. He's getting an annual base salary of $1.2 million and a signing … Read more

Cisco doubles chief executive's pay

Cisco Systems Chief Executive John Chambers saw his compensation go from $9.2 million to $18.9 million in fiscal 2010, as the company showed signs of recovery from a recession-related slump.

The increase was the result of a rise in Chambers' stock and option awards and his cash bonus, the Wall Street Journal said Saturday, citing Cisco's initial proxy statement.

The stock and options were valued at $13.9 million, up from $6.7 million in fiscal 2009, and Chambers' salary rose 1.9 percent from last year, to $382,212. The CEO also bagged a $4.6 … Read more

Keith Rabois slides his way to Square

Less than a month after his previous company, Slide, sold to Google, Silicon Valley mainstay Keith Rabois has landed in a new gig as general manager of Square, the e-commerce company spearheaded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

Rabois made the announcement in the form of an interview with the Los Angeles Times. At Slide, he'd served as vice president of business development while also making a name for himself as a notable angel investor, and serves on the boards of companies like Yelp (which was nearly a Google buy itself late last year before the negotiations famously fell through). … Read more

Twitter: Yes, we're building out a sales team!

Confirming a bunch of disparate blog rumors about individual hires, Twitter confirmed on Tuesday--after previously declining to comment--that it's building out a sales team and has hired a News Corp. veteran to helm it.

Adam Bain, previously serving as the head of News Corp.'s Fox Audience Network (the conglomerate's unit for online advertising operations, technology, and sales; prior to that, Bain had been News Corp. chief technology officer) has joined Twitter with the lofty title of "president of global revenue." The ambiguity of the title reflects the fact that Twitter eventually wants to look beyond … Read more

Owen Van Natta lands executive post at Zynga

Owen Van Natta, who went from an executive role at Facebook to a short-lived start-up-gig to an almost-as-short-lived stint as the CEO of MySpace, has been hired at social-gaming powerhouse Zynga as "executive vice president of business operations." He will report directly to Mark Pincus, the founder and CEO.

The official job description for Van Natta's role explains that he is "responsible for the company's revenue strategy, corporate development, international expansion, and brand" and also serves on the company's board of directors.

Zynga, which manufactures a portfolio of games like Mafia Wars and … Read more

MySpace co-president Jason Hirschhorn departs

Following a report on TechCrunch, MySpace co-president Jason Hirschhorn has confirmed via his personal Twitter account that he's leaving the company after fewer than six months at the helm.

Hirschhorn, an MTV Networks and Sling Media veteran, had been at MySpace for just over a year, having previously served as chief product officer.

"Yes i am moving back to NYC. Concrete jungle where dreams are made of. I believe in MySpace, its leader Jonesy and its wonderful team," Hirschhorn tweeted. He was referring to Mike Jones, who with Hirschhorn took over the co-presidency at News Corp.-owned … Read more

Microsoft U.S. ad sales VP Domeniconi to depart

According to sources, Robin Domeniconi (pictured here), Microsoft's vice president for U.S. Advertising Sales, Publishing, and Marketing, will be leaving the company.

While Domeniconi is leaving, sources said Microsoft is close to hiring Carolyn Everson of MTV Networks to head up its online ad sales force globally.

While the deal is not done, Microsoft has been looking to fill the key slot for more than a year.

Everson (pictured here) is currently executive vice president of Strategy and Operations for the MTV Networks U.S. ad sales department.

Interestingly, sources also said Everson was also on the list … Read more