Ask Jeeves President-COO Quits to Lead Play Streaming Media

Ask Jeeves Inc., an Internet question-and-answer service, said President and Chief Operating Officer Ted Briscoe has resigned, just two months after being promoted to the positions. Briscoe, 37, will become chief executive of Rancho Cordova, Calif.-based Play Streaming Media Group, a closely held provider of streaming Internet broadcast services for businesses. Ask Jeeves said other executives will assume his duties. After joining Emeryville, Calif.-based Ask Jeeves as chief marketing officer in January 1999, Briscoe helped the company become the 14th-most-visited Web site this year, up from 124th in 1999, according to Internet researcher Media Metrix Inc. “His personal ambition was to hold a position as a chief executive of a start-up company,” Ask Jeeves spokeswoman Heather Staples said. Ask Jeeves had operated without a president or COO before Briscoe’s March promotion, and there are no plans to replace him. Ask Jeeves shares fell $1.63 to close at $20 on Nasdaq. They have risen nearly 50% from their July 1999 initial public offering price of $14.