Jim Lanzone

Jim Lanzone
Jim Lanzone
Born	James Lanzone 20 1, 1971
Birthplace	California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	CEO of Yahoo Inc.
Employer	Yahoo Inc.
Known for	CEO of Yahoo, CEO of CBS Interactive, CEO of Ask.com, founder of Clicker.com
Spouse(s)	Shannon Lanzone
Children	3

James "Jim" Lanzone (born January 20, 1971) is an American business executive and the chief executive officer of Yahoo Inc., a position he has held since September 2021. Over a career spanning more than two decades in the technology and digital media industries, Lanzone has led several major internet companies and products through periods of significant transformation. Before joining Yahoo, he served as CEO of the dating platform Tinder, and prior to that spent nearly a decade at CBS Corporation, where he served as president and CEO of CBS Interactive and later became the company's first chief digital officer. Lanzone earlier founded Clicker.com, a search engine and discovery platform for internet video and television, which was acquired by CBS Corporation in 2011. He also served as CEO of Ask.com (formerly Ask Jeeves), where he led a substantial redesign and repositioning of the search engine in the mid-2000s. At Yahoo, Lanzone has overseen a multi-phase turnaround effort for the iconic internet brand, which continues to serve hundreds of millions of users across its portfolio of properties.

Early Life

James Lanzone was born on January 20, 1971, in California, United States. He grew up in California and went on to pursue higher education at institutions on both coasts of the United States. Details of his early childhood and family background prior to his college years remain limited in publicly available sources.

Education

Lanzone earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He subsequently attended Emory University, where he obtained both a Juris Doctor (JD) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), equipping him with dual expertise in law and business that would inform his career in the technology industry. Lanzone has maintained ties with UCLA's Anderson School of Management, participating in alumni events and speaking engagements at the school.

Career

Ask.com

Lanzone served as the chief executive officer of Ask.com, the search engine formerly known as Ask Jeeves. During his tenure, he oversaw a significant relaunch and repositioning of the platform. In 2006, the company relaunched as "Ask 3D," introducing a new interface designed to differentiate the search engine from competitors such as Google. The redesign was noted by technology commentators, with journalist Walt Mossberg writing that Ask.com's approach "goes much further than Google" in certain respects.

Under Lanzone's leadership, Ask.com sought to carve out a distinct identity in the search market, which was increasingly dominated by Google. In a 2006 analysis of search services, AllThingsD noted Ask's competitive positioning under Lanzone's direction. Lanzone discussed his approach to search and the future of the industry in a 2007 interview with The New York Times, in which he elaborated on his management philosophy and strategic vision for the company.

Lanzone departed Ask.com and was succeeded as CEO by Jim Safka. His tenure at Ask.com was later recognized as one of the notable episodes in the history of internet search, with Search Engine Land including his work at the company in a retrospective on major changes in the search industry over a 20-year period.

Clicker.com

After leaving Ask.com, Lanzone founded Clicker.com, a search engine and discovery guide for internet video and television content. The platform was designed to help users find and navigate the growing universe of video content available online, functioning as what some described as a "TV Guide for web video."

Clicker launched in beta at TechCrunch50 on September 14, 2009, a prominent technology conference that served as a launchpad for new startups. The company attracted significant venture capital backing, with investors including Bill Gurley of Benchmark Capital, Geoff Yang of Redpoint Ventures, Allen & Company, Qualcomm Ventures, and Slingbox founder Blake Krikorian, among others.

AllThingsD covered the launch of Clicker in November 2009, describing it as a tool for watching TV online and highlighting its potential in the emerging online video space. Lanzone discussed the founding and development of Clicker in various media appearances, including interviews on programs such as "This Week in Startups," where he elaborated on the company's mission to organize internet video content for consumers.

Clicker.com was acquired by CBS Corporation on March 4, 2011, an acquisition that brought Lanzone into the CBS corporate fold and set the stage for his next chapter in digital media leadership.

CBS Interactive and CBS Corporation

Following CBS Corporation's acquisition of Clicker.com, Lanzone joined CBS Interactive as its president, taking over the role from Neil Ashe in March 2011. He subsequently became president and CEO of CBS Interactive, which ranked as a top-10 internet property and operated a portfolio of prominent websites and digital brands including CBS All Access, CNET, GameSpot, CBS News, Metacritic, CBS Sports, 247 Sports, Scout Media, MaxPreps.com, TVGuide.com, and Last.fm, among others.

During his time at CBS Interactive, Lanzone oversaw the growth and development of CBS's digital properties during a period of significant transformation in the media industry. He played a central role in the development of CBS All Access, the network's direct-to-consumer streaming service, which would later evolve into Paramount+. In a 2019 profile by Forbes, Lanzone was credited with leading CBS Interactive into new content ventures, including the digital expansion associated with the relaunch of "The Twilight Zone."

Lanzone later became the first chief digital officer of CBS Corporation, a role in which he was responsible for the broader digital strategy across the entire corporation beyond just the interactive division. His tenure at CBS spanned nearly a decade and encompassed a period during which the company substantially expanded its digital footprint and streaming capabilities.

Tinder

After his time at CBS, Lanzone served as CEO of Tinder, the popular dating application owned by Match Group. Although details of his specific initiatives at Tinder are less extensively documented in available sources, his appointment as CEO of one of the world's largest dating platforms represented a continuation of his track record of leading consumer-facing internet companies. His tenure at Tinder preceded his appointment as CEO of Yahoo.

Yahoo Inc.

Lanzone became CEO of Yahoo Inc. in September 2021, following the company's acquisition by Apollo Global Management from Verizon Communications. He was tasked with leading a multi-phase turnaround of the iconic internet brand, which had experienced years of declining relevance despite retaining hundreds of millions of users across its various properties.

In multiple interviews, Lanzone described the turnaround effort as beginning with a "ground-up transformation" of the company's technology infrastructure and product offerings. In a 2025 interview with Fortune, Lanzone compared Yahoo's rebuilding process to that of other major brands, stating: "People think that Nike happened overnight or they were just brand geniuses — it took years." He also emphasized the urgency of innovation at the company, telling Semafor in May 2025: "If we don't innovate, we die."

AI and Yahoo Scout

Under Lanzone's leadership, Yahoo launched Yahoo Scout, an AI-powered answer engine that draws on the company's more than 30 years of user insights and data. The product represented a significant strategic bet on artificial intelligence as a means of reinvigorating Yahoo's search and content discovery capabilities in an era of rapid AI advancement.

Lanzone has been vocal about the implications of AI for the broader media and publishing industry. In a September 2025 interview with The Times of London, he warned that "the rise of AI will pose a fundamental threat" to the existence of publishers, reflecting both the opportunities and challenges AI presented for content-dependent companies like Yahoo.

Turnaround strategy

By late 2025, Lanzone's turnaround strategy had attracted attention from media analysts and technology commentators. In a December 2025 profile by Puck, Lanzone discussed Yahoo's scale, AI strategy, and plans for the company's future, with the publication noting that despite being perceived by some as a relic, Yahoo retained hundreds of millions of users and maintained top-ranking digital properties. A subsequent Puck podcast appearance in December 2025 explored Yahoo's "Apollo era" and its prospects for survival in what the publication described as a "hyper-niche world."

Fortune profiled Lanzone in July 2025 in its "Leadership Next" series, describing his approach as "sticking to what users need" and examining Yahoo's positioning in the new era of search and AI. The profile explored Yahoo's identity as simultaneously an advertising business, search engine, email provider, media company, and aggregator, and how Lanzone was navigating the company's multi-faceted nature.

Lanzone's strategy at Yahoo has centered on convincing technology talent to join the company and invest in its potential for renewal. Fortune noted in June 2025 that he had been effective in recruiting technical talent to support Yahoo's comeback efforts, despite the company's diminished reputation relative to its peak years in the early 2000s.

Personal Life

Lanzone is married to Shannon Lanzone, and the couple have three children. The family resides in the United States. Beyond these publicly documented facts, Lanzone has maintained a relatively private personal life separate from his professional profile.

Lanzone has also been involved in angel investing and startup advising. His LinkedIn profile indicates ongoing engagement with the broader technology and entrepreneurial community.

Recognition

Lanzone has been the subject of profiles in major publications throughout his career. The New York Times featured him in its "Corner Office" series in 2007 during his tenure at Ask.com, exploring his leadership approach and business philosophy. He was profiled in Current Biography, a reference publication that documents notable individuals.

Forbes profiled his work at CBS Interactive in 2019, highlighting his role in expanding the company's digital capabilities.

Since becoming CEO of Yahoo, Lanzone has received sustained media attention from outlets including Fortune, Semafor, Puck, The Times of London, and Yahoo Finance, reflecting both the prominence of the Yahoo brand and the interest in whether the company can be successfully revitalized under his leadership.

Legacy

Lanzone's career has been defined by a pattern of leading established internet properties through periods of reinvention. From his role in repositioning Ask.com in the mid-2000s search wars, to founding an internet video guide during the early days of online television, to steering CBS's digital transition during the rise of streaming, to his current effort to revitalize Yahoo in the age of artificial intelligence, Lanzone has consistently operated at the intersection of legacy internet brands and emerging technology trends.

His work at Ask.com was noted in retrospective analyses of the search industry as part of the competitive landscape that shaped modern search. The founding and sale of Clicker.com demonstrated his entrepreneurial capacity, while his nearly decade-long tenure at CBS Interactive coincided with the company's transformation from a traditional broadcast network into a significant digital media operation.

At Yahoo, Lanzone faces what observers have described as one of the most challenging turnaround projects in the technology industry — reviving a brand that once defined the internet but had lost much of its cultural cachet and competitive position. The launch of Yahoo Scout and the company's broader AI strategy represent his effort to ensure the company remains relevant in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.