Steve Berkowitz to head MSN and Windows Live efforts
"Microsoft said Friday it has hired Internet executive Steve Berkowitz to head its MSN and Windows Live efforts as part of the company's continued push to offer more online software and services.
Berkowitz, the former Ask Jeeves CEO, has been serving as head of InterActiveCorp's search business since the Barry Diller-backed company acquired the search company for $1.85 billion last year. His naming comes after Microsoft last month reorganized the Microsoft unit that handles the Windows operating system, Windows Live and MSN."
From Berkowitz's (ex?) bio (still on the IAC Search and Media corporate site):
"As CEO, Steve Berkowitz is responsible for all business related to IAC Search & Media (formerly Ask Jeeves, Inc.). In his previous role as president of Ask.com, Berkowitz is credited with building the management team that orchestrated the turn around of Ask.com, today the second largest pure search site on the Internet. In September 2001, he made the critical decision to acquire Teoma Technologies and integrate their unique approach to Web-wide search into Ask.com. He also oversaw Ask.com's redesign, which improved ease-of-use and removed pop-ups and banner ads from the site in favor of a more contextually relevant search experience. As a result, user satisfaction has grown steadily since 2002, and the Company has more than tripled its revenue since Berkowitz came on board.
Prior to joining IAC Search & Media, Berkowitz was the President and COO of IDG Books, where he successfully expanded the "Dummies" series of books into a celebrated consumer brand covering everything from C++ to pet care."
No official press release on this yet.