Yahoo’s ad sales in the U.S. (along with the rest of the continent) may be in for a rough patch. LivingSocial, the group deals site that competes with Groupon, has managed to poach Mitch Spolan, whose title was “Vice President of North American Field Sales.”
There’s an interesting bit of symmetry in this move, considering that Yahoo and Google have been rivals for so long and Google showed so much interest in Groupon (supposedly trying to acquire it for $6 billion).
Anyway, Spolan will now act as senior vice president of national sales at LivingSocial, and he seems well-prepared for the position. Spolan spent over 12 years in sales at Yahoo, working his way up the ranks after starting with small clients in the southeast, meaning he has loads of experience.
It’s likely Spolan collected tons of useful contacts, too.
Eric Eichmann, LivingSocial’s COO, stated in response, “We are very excited to have Mitch join the senior executive team. Mitch’s extensive experience developing new online advertising opportunities and working with top marketers will help accelerate national brands’ adoption of the powerful LivingSocial platform. His hands-on approach, creativity and technological know-how will play an integral role in helping LivingSocial build upon its leadership position in the local commerce space.”
Spolan then added, “LivingSocial has created a new medium where both marketers and consumers are big winners. I look forward to continuing to innovate on this incredibly powerful marketing platform as LivingSocial continues to dominate the local commerce space.”