Microsoft Names Ask.com CEO to Help Guide MSN, Windows Live

Microsoft announced on April 21 that it had named Steve Berkowitz, the former CEO of Ask.com, to fill an opening at the top of its Online Business Group unit.

On May 8, Berkowitz will become the senior vice president in charge of the group that oversees MSN.com, MSNTV, MSN Internet access programming, advertising sales, business development and marketing for MSN and Windows Live. The end-to-end management of the Online Business Group profit-and-loss center also is now under Berkowitz.

The Windows Live platform services and operational capabilities fall under a separate group, known as the Windows Live Platform group, headed by Blake Irving. Irving's group is in charge of creating the advertiser and developer "ecosystems" around Windows Live.

Berkowitz is succeeding David Cole, the current senior vice president in charge of these various properties. Cole is set to begin a year-long leave of absence in May. Microsoft officials reiterated last month that Cole is planning to return to the company in some capacity at the end of his sabbatical.

Ask.com (formerly known as AskJeeves) is a division of IAC/InterActiveCorp.

According to an e-mail message from Kevin Johnson, the co-president of Microsoft's platforms and services division to whom Berkowitz will be reporting, "At Ask, Steve is credited with building the management team that orchestrated the turnaround of Ask.com, grew their user base, increased customer satisfaction, and gained share in the search market over the last year."

Prior to joining Ask, Berkowitz was the president and chief operating officer of IDG Books.

Martin Taylor, who was recently named corporate vice president of Windows Live and MSN Marketing, will be one of Berkowitz's handful of direct reports.

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