Yahoo Says Lockerz’s CEO Savitt to Join as Marketing Chief

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO), owner of the largest U.S. Web portal, named Kathy Savitt, founder of social-commerce startup Lockerz Inc. and a former executive at American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO), as chief marketing officer.

Savitt will leave as chief executive officer of Lockerz to join Yahoo next month, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer, who arrived in July from Google Inc. Savitt previously was marketing chief at teen-apparel chain American Eagle and worked at Amazon.com Inc., Yahoo said in a statement yesterday.

Mayer -- Yahoo’s fifth CEO in three years -- is hiring new people and seeking fresh ways to bolster growth as rivals Facebook Inc. (FB) and Google gain ground with Internet users and advertisers. The company has posted three straight years of revenue declines amid turnover in the executive ranks.

“We are very excited to welcome Kathy to Yahoo,” Mayer said in the statement. “Her extensive experience in building and refining well-loved consumer brands like Amazon, American Eagle Outfitters and Lockerz will be incredibly valuable as we define Yahoo’s future.”

Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, California, fell less than 1 percent to $14.72 at the close in New York. The shares have declined 8.7 percent this year.

After she joins Yahoo, Savitt will become chairman of Lockerz’s board, and Chief Operating Officer Mark Stabingas will become CEO, the Seattle-based startup said in an e-mailed statement. The company’s investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Liberty Media Corp.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Womack in San Francisco at bwomack1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net