2 Yahoo advertising executives resign

Two Yahoo Inc. executives responsible for selling advertising on other websites have stepped down, dealing the company a setback in its efforts to catch up with Google Inc.

Bill Demas, senior vice president of Yahoo’s publisher network, resigned during the last quarter and will leave the company at the end of November, spokeswoman Kristen Wareham said Monday. Will Johnson, a vice president, left two weeks ago.

Wareham said the executives left of their own accord.

The departures come as Yahoo, which ranks second to Google in Internet search, tries to sign up more sites to display the ads it sells. Demas oversaw Yahoo’s business to sell ads on large websites including cnn.com, while Johnson ran a trial program to offer ads on smaller sites, including blogs.

Yahoo remains committed to selling ads that appear on other websites, Wareham said.