Yahoo Names Chief Marketing Officer

Yahoo has announced that Elisa Steele has become its chief marketing officer.

Steele, who served as senior VP of corporate marketing at NetApp, took on the role Monday. She will oversee Yahoo's brand and global marketing strategy. Her responsibilities will include audience marketing, corporate communications, insights, policy and privacy, and community affairs.

Steele led global branding and communications, corporate relations, and integrated marketing for NetApp. Before that, she led Sun's integrated marketing and merchandising. Steele also has held management positions with iPlanet eCommerce Solutions, JavaSoft, and AT&T. She holds an MBA from San Francisco State University and a bachelor's of business administration from the University of New Hampshire.

She will report directly to Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz. Steele said she wants to work with Bartz and Yahoo's employees to renew the company's customer focus and better promote its brand globally.

Bartz has repeatedly stressed the strength of Yahoo's brand and the importance of improving on it since the company announced her appointment as CEO in January.

"The Yahoo brand is one of our most valuable and strategic assets, and Elisa is charged with unlocking its potential globally," she said in a prepared statement. "Elisa has an outstanding track record in leading global marketing, branding, and communications teams, and we're excited to welcome her to Yahoo's executive staff."

Bartz also said that Yahoo's marketing strategy and teams have become decentralized and Steele will oversee efforts to integrate marketing on a global scale.

The news comes as Activision announced it has hired Yahoo's former COO, Dan Rosensweig, to become the new CEO of its Guitar Hero unit.

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