Yahoo CEO Mayer pursuing top Google exec

Sunnyvale, CA, United States (4E) – Yahoo chief executive officer Marissa Mayer was hired away from Google a few months ago and now she is seeking a former colleague to join her in her goal of making Yahoo relevant again. According to several sources closest to the matter, Mayer is heavily recruiting Google advertising executive Henrique De Castro for either the position of chief operating officer or a big role in Yahoo’s advertising.

This isn’t the first time De Castro has been pursued by Yahoo. Before Mayer tried to recruit De Castro, previous Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson also pursued De Castro.

After reports surfaced that Mayer was seeking his services, he told his staff at Google that he had no intention of leaving the search giant. Rumors of his transfer have intensified over the weeks since De Castro wasn’t present at Google’s yearly Zeitgeist event which is held for advertising clients.

De Castro isn’t the first top executive Mayer has tried to recruit. She also pursued Twitter’s international markets head Katie Jacobs Stanton. Stanton is a former Google and Yahoo executive.

So far Mayer has concentrated her efforts on Yahoo’s engineering and working culture. She has already hired former Google employees, but De Castro is the most high profile. De Castro’s responsibilities at Google involve fostering healthy relationships with publishers and overseeing partner businesses.

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