The management face of Yahoo!
On Tuesday, Yahoo! announced that it had appointed Lloyd Braun as head of the company's media and entertainment unit. Braun has long been in the traditional media field and most recently served as chairman for Disney's
In disclosing the news, Yahoo! explained how it expects to leverage Braun's expertise. COO Dan Rosensweig lauded Braun's connections as well as his "proven creative instincts" and remarked that he expects Braun will facilitate work with "creative partners to deliver exciting new content." Rosensweig further noted that "growing consumer demand for compelling content on the Internet and the rapid proliferation of broadband is an exciting growth opportunity for Yahoo!"
The Braun hiring isn't the first sign that the creative world is likely to be an important part of Yahoo!'s future. CEO Terry Semel himself previously led Time Warner's
All of this focus on the creative side of things may herald a new stage in Yahoo!'s development. So far the firm has operated primarily as a channel for others' content, but that may not be the long-term vision. Yahoo!'s reported interest in MarketWatch
Fool contributor Brian Gorman is a freelance writer living in Chicago. He does not own shares of any companies mentioned here.