Microsoft Recruits Ask.com CEO To Run Online Business
Berkowitz, who was CEO of Ask.com, will be senior vice president of Online Business within the company's Platforms and Services Division.
He will report to Kevin Johnson, co-president of that division. Ask.com, once known as Ask Jeeves, is a division of Barry Diller's IAC/InterActive.
As senior vice president, Berkowitz will head up marketing, sales and business development for MSN and the nascent Windows Live services effort.
In a memo sent to Microsoft employees, Johnson credited Berkowitz with orchestrating an Ask.com turnaround of Ask.com, during which its customer base, customer satisfaction and search market share grew over the past year.
Given Microsoft's preoccupation with Google's market-leading search service, this hire could be viewed as strategic. With Windows Live, basically a repackaged MSN and hosted Sharepoint services, Microsoft is trying to gain a stronger foothold in Web-based consumer services. It already has experience there with its existing Hotmail and MSN e-mail services but most observers say it lags behind Google and Yahoo in this area.
"Steve's management experience, deep functional knowledge of the search and Internet space, and understanding of both the offline and online publishing worlds make him a great choice to lead the Online Business Group," Johnson wrote in the memo.
"He is a proven leader, and is excited by the opportunity to take the assets we've built in MSN and drive our software + services vision forward."
Berkowitz is slated to start May 8. David Cole has been acting SVP for the online group while a successor was found.