Jim Lanzone

Jim Lanzone
Born January 20, 1971 (1971-01-20) (age 41)
Nationality USA
Alma mater UCLA (Bachelor's degree)
Emory University School of Law (JD/MBA)
Occupation President of CBS Interactive
Employer CBS

Jim Lanzone (born January 20, 1971) is the current President of CBS Interactive, which operates key websites including CNET, CBS.com, Gamespot, CBS News, Metacritic, CBS Sports, Chow, MaxPreps.com and TV.com. He took over as President from Neil Ashe in March 2011.[1] Prior to joining CBS Interactive, Lanzone was the CEO of Clicker.com, the complete guide to Internet Television.[2] Clicker launched in beta at TechCrunch50 on September 14, 2009 and was acquired by CBS in March 2011.

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles.[3] Jim also holds a JD/MBA from Emory University School of Law.

In 1997, Lanzone co-founded eTour, an early provider of information retrieval and cost-per-lead services on the Web. By 1998, eTour had become a top 50 website and the Web’s #1 ranked site in user frequency (1998 & 1999).[4] Lanzone continued to serve as president of eTour until it was acquired by Ask.com in May 2001.

In addition to Ask.com's purchase of eTour, Lanzone was hired to lead product management, marketing and engineering, as senior vice president and general manager of Ask.com. Ask.com was purchased by Barry Diller’s IAC in 2005, and shortly afterward, Jim Lanzone was named CEO of Ask.com. He held this position until leaving IAC/Ask.com in 2008 to join Redpoint Ventures as Entrepreneur in Residence.[5] Upon his departure, Barry Diller credited Lanzone as "the principal executive responsible for Ask.com's turnaround".[6] One of Lanzone's primary achievements as CEO was the overhaul and rebranding of AskJeeves (renamed Ask.com). Walt Mossberg praised the new site as being "richer and better organized than typical Google results",[7] and Chris Sherman of Search Engine Land called it the "Apple of Search"[8][9]

In addition to his role at CBS Interactive, Lanzone also serves as an advisor at Gigya and Ustream. He is also an investor in such companies as Tasty Labs and Aardvark (Search Engine).[10][11][12]

References

  1. ^ Caroline McCarthy (2011-03-04). "CBS Interactive Hires Jim Lanzone as President". CNET. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20039326-93.html. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
  2. ^ Brian Lam (2009-09-14). "Clicker: Like TV Guide for Web Video". Gizmodo. http://gizmodo.com/5359313/clicker-like-tv-guide-for-web-video. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
  3. ^ UCLA alumni list
  4. ^ "The Man Who Survived eTour, Grew Ask.com And Launched Clicker – with Jim Lanzone". Mixergy. 2010-06-11. http://mixergy.com/jim-lanzone-interview/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
  5. ^ Barry Schwartz (2008-01-09). "Jim Safka To Replace Jim Lanzone As CEO Of Ask.com". Search Engine Land. http://searchengineland.com/jim-safka-to-replace-jim-lanzone-as-ceo-of-askcom-13101. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
  6. ^ SEO Roundtable profile
  7. ^ Walt Mossberg (2006-03-30). "Ask.Com’s New Look Scores Big Points Against Search Rivals". All Things Digital. http://allthingsd.com/20060330/search-service-scores/. Retrieved 2011-10-18. 
  8. ^ Chris Sherman (2007-09-07). "Search in the Year 2010". Search Engine Land. http://searchengineland.com/search-in-the-year-2010-part-two-12115. Retrieved 2011-10-18. 
  9. ^ Greg Sterling (2007-06-04). "Ask Relaunches: Now Ask 3D". Search Engine Land. http://searchengineland.com/ask-relaunches-now-ask-3d-11379. Retrieved 2011-10-18. 
  10. ^ This Week in Startups
  11. ^ Search Engine Land article on Aardvark on investors
  12. ^ AngelList: Tasty Labs

External links

Business positions
Preceded by
Neil Ashe		 CBS Interactive President
2011–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
n/a		 Clicker CEO
2009–2011		 Succeeded by
n/a
Preceded by
Steve Berkowitz		 Ask.com CEO
2006–2008		 Succeeded by
Jim Safka
Preceded by
n/a		 eTour President & Co-Founder
1997-2001		 Succeeded by
n/a