YouTube hires Yahoo exec to oversee finances

YouTube, the wildly popular video-sharing site that's been working to come up with a viable business plan, has hired a Yahoo executive to take over its finances, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday (subscription required).

Gideon Yu has agreed to leave his position as Yahoo's treasurer to become YouTube's first chief financial officer, according to the Journal.

Now claiming more than 100 million views a day, YouTube, the subject of many acquisition rumors, leads the ever-growing pack of sites tapping into the market for user-submitted content.

The Journal calls Yu's move "the latest example of a longtime pattern in Silicon Valley, where young, fast-growing companies draw attention and talent away from older, more-established firms."

"It is also a sign of the year-and-a-half-old YouTube's maturation, possibly portending preparations for deal-making or an eventual initial public offering," the story says.