Another day, another former Yahoo VP going to work for Microsoft. This time it’s Eric Boyd, a former VP of Engineering at Yahoo, who more recently held the same title at gaming startup Mochi Media. Boyd is leaving Mochi to run the Silicon Valley ad group for Microsoft, after being recruited heavily by former mentor Qi Lu, who now runs online services for Microsoft, we’ve learned.
Updated: Boyd has just confirmed the news via email:
1. I will be joining the Search and Advertising group in Silicon Valley
2. The reporting relationship of the Yahoo team has not been worked out yet, we’ll figure that out as we get there.
This is a very important role for Microsoft as it is the group that will be absorbing the 400 Yahoo employees who are coming over when the Microsoft/Yahoo search advertising deal is finalized. The key for Boyd will be transitioning them into Microsoft’s team.
Boyd announced on his Facebook page that he was changing jobs last week, but didn’t give more details. He was decided between Google, Netflix, Microsoft, a few startups and yes, even going back to Yahoo, we’re told. But this past week he has apparently been in Hawaii with a group from Microsoft, so it’s probably safe to assume that the decision had been made by then.
Boyd’s move is also interesting because it highlights a continued exodus of senior level people from Mochi Media. A power struggle currently going on between the investors is likely the cause. Aside from Boyd, no less than CEO George Garrick and VP of Sales, Carol Werner have left the company, we’ve learned. And both of them were at Mochi for a very short period of time. Garrick was just brought on board in November of last year, while Werner came over from MySpace just this past May.
We’ve reached out to Boyd, Microsoft and Mochi Media, and will update when and if we hear back from any of them.
An interesting side note is that Boyd was a former member of MIT’s Blackjack team in college.
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