Execs: Ross Levinsohn to Yahoo; SMG's Finnegan Is Out

Yesterday was a big day for exec moves in the online media and agency worlds. Yahoo, Starcom MediaVest Group, and CP+B all confirmed significant talent additions or subtractions yesterday, and Google promoted august employee Susan Wojcicki. A rundown:

Yahoo named Ross Levinsohn as EVP of the Americas region, replacing departing exec Hilary Schneider. Levinsohn was president of News Corp’s Fox Interactive Media, where he was credited with engineering the acquisition of MySpace.

He’ll oversee Yahoo’s media group, ad sales, and partnerships in the Americas region. The hire is a significant win for Yahoo, which has lost a number of longtime and well-regarded executives. In addition to Schneider, also hitting the road are David Ko, SVP of audience, mobile and local in North America; and Jimmy Pitaro, VP of Media.

Schneider has said she will stick around to help with the transition.

Before News Corp., Levinsohn held senior roles at HBO, CBS Sportsline, and search engine Alta Vista. More recently he co-founded an investment firm, Fuse Capital, where he is managing director.

Sean Finnegan has left Starcom MediaVest Group after two years as president and chief digital officer. He joined in 2008 after serving a brief stint as Vibrant Media’s chief media officer. He intends to spend time with family, according to reports.

In a statement SMG painted Finnegan’s exit as a “mutual decision” but did not announce succession plans. “This decision has given SMG an opportunity to evaluate our overall digital leadership structure,” is all the Publicis-owned media agency would say.

Crispin Porter + Bogusky promoted Andrew Keller from co-chief creative officer to CEO. Simultaneous to that announcement, it said Jeff Steinhour becomes president, and Rob Reilly is elevated to worldwide chief creative officer. Current CEO Jeff Hicks steps into the role of vice chairman.

Also this week, Google elevated longtime employee Susan Wojcicki to SVP in charge of AdWords, AdSense, and Analytics. While her job duties don’t change – she’s been responsible for the ad and analytics products since 2006 – the promotion is an acknowledgment of her august position in the company.

It was in Wojcicki’s Menlo Park garage that founders Brin and Page set up Google’s first workspace, and she was its 18th employee.