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Ellen Siminoff

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Ellen Siminoff
Born
Ellen Friedman[1]

1967 (age 56–57)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
EducationB.A., Princeton University
MBA, Stanford University
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, Investor
Years active1996–present
Known forYahoo! (founding executive)
Shmoop (co-founder)
Spouse
​
(m. 1994)​
Children2

Ellen Siminoff (born 1967, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an entrepreneur, board member and investor.[2] Frequently quoted in The New York Times as an Internet industry commentator,[3][4][5][6] Siminoff was named one of Forbes magazine's Masters of Information in 2005.[7]

Along with her husband, David Siminoff, Ellen is co-founder and former chief executive officer of Shmoop.[8]

Life and education

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Siminoff obtained a BA in economics from Princeton University and an MBA from Stanford University,[9] where she met her husband David Siminoff while they were students at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.[10] She also has a Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies Software Engineering from Harvard University.[11]

Career

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Siminoff is a seasoned executive in the media and technology sectors, From 2007 to 2018, she served as president and CEO of Shmoop University, an educational publishing company.[12] Prior to this role, she was president and CEO of Efficient Frontier, a company specializing in dynamic Search Engine Marketing (SEM) management services, which was later acquired by Adobe.[13]

Yahoo!

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Siminoff was a founding executive at Yahoo!,[14] working at the company from 1996 to 2002.[15] She started by running corporate and business development, running mergers and acquisitions after the departure of J. J. Healy.[16] Later Siminoff moved to Senior Vice President of Entertainment and Small Business, with Toby Coppel and Jeff Weiner taking over corporate development.[17] Six months later, Yahoo announced on April 13, 2002, that Siminoff decided to leave the company but would stay through until the end of the year.[18][16] Her departure was part of a high-profile exodus of Yahoo executives, including CEO Timothy Koogle, CFO Gary Valenzuela, sales chief Anil Singh, head of international operations Heather Killen, and marketing head Karen Edwards.[18]

Efficient Frontier

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Siminoff was former chairman and CEO of Efficient Frontier.[19] In July 2006 Bloomberg Businessweek noted that Efficient Frontier was the largest buyer of search advertising keywords on Google,[20] and in March 2008 Silicon Alley Insider named Efficient Frontier one of the 25 most valuable privately held companies in Silicon Valley, valued at an estimated $275 million.[21] Adobe Inc. bought Efficient Frontier for $400 million in 2012.[22][23]

Zynga

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In 2012, she was appointed to Zynga Inc.'s board of directors.[24] In November 2012, siminoff purchased 250,000 shares of the company.[25] She served on Zynga's board from 2012 to 2022, where she was a member of the Audit Committee and chaired the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.[26]

Take-Two Interactive

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Ellen Siminoff became a director of Take-Two Interactive in May 2022, following the company's merger with Zynga.[27][28][29][30][31][32]

Other board positions

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Siminoff has been on the board of directors for Journal Media Group,[33] U.S. Auto Parts,[34] Mozilla Corporation, SolarWinds, Discovery Education and Zynga.[35][36][37]

She serves as executive chairman of BigCommerce (BIGC)[27] and Verifone, a global payments platform, Follett Software[38] and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO).[39][27] She has also been involved with Stanford University's Graduate School of Business Advisory Board,[40] Princeton University's President's Advisory Council,[41] and Stanford's Hoover Institution Board of Overseers.[42]

References

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  1. ^ Trewyn, Phill. "Ex-Yahoo! exec from Milwaukee plots next move," Milwaukee Business Journal (Feb 17, 2002).
  2. ^ "Entrepreneurial Women Who Inspire Us | Posts | 8VC". www.8vc.com.
  3. ^ Markoff, John (2007-05-05). "Rumors Fly on Microsoft and Yahoo". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Helft, Miguel (2006-12-07). "Industry Insiders Praise Yahoo Choice for Key Post". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Helft, Miguel (2008-04-03). "Google Cutting 300 Jobs at DoubleClick". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Helft, Miguel (2007-02-05). "A Long-Delayed Ad System Has Yahoo Crossing Its Fingers". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Hardy, Quentin (2005-09-05). "2005 E-Gang: The Keyword Keeper". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2005. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  8. ^ Ringle, Hayley. "Silicon Valley edtech company founded by former Yahoo executive moves HQ to Scottsdale: Affordable talent a driving factor in company relocation, exec says," Phoenix Business Journal (July 1, 2019).
  9. ^ "Q&A with Efficient Frontier's Ellen Siminoff". iMediaConnection.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-22. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  10. ^ Journal, Kara SwisherStaff Reporter of The Wall Street (6 January 1999). "The Couple of Silicon Valley: They Are Definitely Connected". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 May 2020. They met at Stanford Business School in 1991 and fell in love while making a killing.
  11. ^ "Past Lecturers and Fellows | The G. S. Beckwith Gilbert '63 Lectures". gilbertlectures.princeton.edu.
  12. ^ Thomas, Owen. "Zynga Taps A Veteran Of Yahoo's Glory Days To Its Board". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
  13. ^ "Zynga appoints former Yahoo exec to board". Reuters.
  14. ^ Musil, Steven. "Zynga adds ex-Yahoo exec Ellen Siminoff to board of directors". CNET. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  15. ^ MacMillan, Douglas (2012-07-19). "Zynga Adds Diversity to Board With Yahoo Veteran Ellen Siminof". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  16. ^ a b Angel, Karen (2002). Inside Yahoo!: Reinvention and the Road Ahead. John Wiley & Sons. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-471-42102-3.
  17. ^ "Yahoo! Directors & Officers". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 2013-03-19.
  18. ^ a b Hu, Jim. "Yahoo loses key senior exec". CNET. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Board Members". Efficient Frontier. Archived from the original on 2008-07-04.
  20. ^ "Efficient Frontier: Hacking Madison Avenue". BusinessWeek. 2006-07-23. Archived from the original on 2012-06-22. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  21. ^ "23. Efficient Frontier". Business Insider. 2008-03-28. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  22. ^ Bloom, Jeremy (2015). Fueled By Failure: Using Detours and Defeats to Power Progress. Entrepreneur Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-61308-307-9. [David Karnstedt] later went on to run North American sales for Yahoo! And became CEO of a unified software advertising platform called Efficient Frontier, a company that would later sell to Adobe for $400 million.
  23. ^ "Adobe Completes Acquisition of Efficient Frontier". Adobe. 2012-01-16. Retrieved 27 May 2020. Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the completion of its acquisition of privately held Efficient Frontier
  24. ^ "Zynga appoints former Yahoo exec to board". Reuters.
  25. ^ Thomas, Owen. "A Zynga Board Member BOUGHT $560,000 Worth Of Zynga Stock Last Week". Business Insider.
  26. ^ "Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. -". ir.take2games.com.
  27. ^ a b c "Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. -". ir.take2games.com. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
  28. ^ Bilton, Nick. "At Mozilla, a Chief’s Support of Gay Marriage Ban Causes Conflict," New York Times (MARCH 31, 2014).
  29. ^ "Leadership Changes" (blog). Mozilla. March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  30. ^ Alistair Barr. "Three Mozilla Board Members Resign over Choice of New CEO". WSJ. Archived from the original on 2020-04-25. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  31. ^ Newton, Casey (3 April 2014). "Outfoxed: how protests forced Mozilla's CEO to resign in 11 days". The Verge. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  32. ^ Kim, Susana (April 3, 2014). "Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich Resigns After Protests from Gay Marriage Supporters". ABC News. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  33. ^ "Journal Communications, Inc. Elects Ellen Siminoff to Board of Directors" (Press release). Business Wire. February 14, 2007.
  34. ^ Siminoff, Ellen F. "Ellen Siminoff: Executive Profile & Biography". BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  35. ^ Tracy, Abigail (2012-07-20). "Zynga adds Ellen Siminoff to Board of Directors". Inc. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  36. ^ "Zynga Appoints Ellen Siminoff to Board of Directors". Zynga. 2012-07-19. Archived from the original on 2013-06-24.
  37. ^ Anderson, Will. "SolarWinds' board transformed in wake of private equity buyout". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved 27 May 2020. Former board members who are no longer directors include: [...] Ellen Siminoff, president and CEO of California educational website Shmoop University
  38. ^ "The Jewish Graduate Student Initiative". www.gojgo.org.
  39. ^ "Corporate Governance Highlights | Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc". www.take2games.com.
  40. ^ "Ellen Siminoff: "Learn How to Sell"". Stanford Graduate School of Business. 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
  41. ^ "Ellen Siminoff, '89". New Ventures. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
  42. ^ "ellen siminoff". Hoover Institution.
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