Yahoo merges ad sales unit

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo Inc. said Sunday that its chief domestic sales officer resigned and the company will merge its search and display advertising departments in the U.S. – as the Internet powerhouse fights to catch up with online search leader Google Inc.

Yahoo said it hopes the latest shake-up will streamline the way it sells advertising to customers who increasingly want to buy ads across a variety of formats, from being linked to search terms to popping up as a graphical display to being shown as video.

The reshuffling follows a major executive overhaul announced last week, with co-founder Jerry Yang replacing Terry Semel as chief executive. In the latest organizational change, Yahoo said Wenda Millard, chief sales officer in the U.S., is leaving the company effective immediately.

David Karnstedt, who previously served as senior vice president of Yahoo’s search sales business, was tapped to lead the newly combined sales teams as head of North American sales.

“By taking a more holistic approach to advertising sales, Yahoo will become a more consultative seller, which should make buying complete solutions easier for our customers across Yahoo and our partner network,” Karnstedt said in a statement. “These moves will also enable our world class sales team to more effectively meet the needs of our advertisers — not just today but well into the future.”

In an interview with The Associated Press, Millard, who immediately announced that she has taken the newly created position of president of media for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. in New York, said she bore no ill will toward Yahoo.