Guggenheim Hires Former Yahoo Chief for Media Venture
Guggenheim Partners said on Tuesday that it has hired Ross Levinsohn, a former Yahoo chief executive, to lead a new media unit that includes Billboard, Adweek and the Hollywood Reporter.
As the chief executive of Guggenheim Digital Media, Mr. Levinsohn will oversee both the print and digital versions of those publications, as well as the Clio advertising awards. He will also run the digital media assets of Dick Clark Productions, which Guggenheim bought last year for about $ 370 million.
It is the first major role for Mr. Levinsohn since leaving Yahoo as its interim chief executive last year. He assumed the leadership of the technology company last May after his predecessor, Scott Thompson, was forced to resign amid questions about his academic credentials. But he ultimately wasn’t picked to lead the Web pioneer on a permanent basis, with the board instead poaching Marissa Mayer from Google to lead the company’s turnaround.
A longtime veteran of the media industry, Mr. Levinsohn was hired at Yahoo in 2010 to oversee the company’s Americas operations. He previously worked as the president of the News Corporation’s Fox Interactive Media, serving as a resident deal maker who helped engineer the $ 580 million acquisition of MySpace. Earlier in his career, he worked at AltaVista, CBS Sportsline and HBO.
At Guggenheim, he is expected to not only manage the investment company’s existing assets, but also help spot new acquisition targets.
“I am excited to be part of the dynamic Guggenheim family of companies,” Mr. Levinsohn said in a statement. “G.D.M. has a powerful and competitive portfolio of iconic media assets today, and I look forward to identifying new opportunities for growth as the media and technology industries continue to rapidly evolve.”