Yahoo Exec Moves To MySpace

Valeh Vakili joined Yahoo after graduating from Harvard, and over the course of eight years, climbed quite high up its corporate ladder.  Now, she’s moved from her position as the director of media sales operations to join MySpace in a similar capacity.

The social networking company created the title of "Senior Vice President, Sales Strategy and Operations" especially for Vakili.  Jeff Berman, MySpace’s president of sales and marketing, seems to think she’ll play a pivotal role in the organization.  "Valeh will help take us to the next level as one of the most powerful forces for marketers not just in the digital landscape, but in all of media," he said in a statement.

Berman then tossed in a small shot at Vakili’s former employer, continuing, "Especially now that MySpace has passed Yahoo! as the largest display advertising site online, we are thrilled to offer our brand partners the benefit of Valeh’s experience and savvy."

And indeed, although there may be all sorts of mitigating factors relating to office sizes or salaries, this move serves as a real compliment to MySpace.  Vakili isn’t exactly a job-hopper, after all, and probably wasn’t the least bit threatened by the efficiency sweep that Bain & Company is conducting.

Yahoo, meanwhile, lost again in a competition to News Corporation as the two stocks went down 5.06 and 2.09 percent today, respectively.