Ex-CEO at Overture Is Leaving Yahoo

The former chief executive of Overture Services Inc., the Pasadena company that pioneered search-engine advertising before its sale to Yahoo Inc. in 2003, is leaving Yahoo.

Ted Meisel, president of Yahoo Search Marketing, plans to leave by the end of the year to start a nonprofit policy organization and spend more time with his family, the company said.

The departure triggered a minor reshuffling within Yahoo, with the group formerly known as Overture now split into three pieces reporting to different senior executives.

Chris Gaither