Yahoo marketing chief switches to TikTok

Yahoo director of brand and marketing, Anny Havercroft, has left her post to take up a business marketing leadership role at TikTok.  

Havercoft spent more than four years with Yahoo, working with the business as it integrated a collection of media brands including Yahoo, AOL and TechCrunch under the Verizon Media moniker. Verizon rebranded to Yahoo earlier in 2021 after being bought out by private equity firm, Apollo Global Management.  

Her marketing and brand work saw Havercroft recognised among the top 50 marketing leaders across Australia in the 2020 edition of the CMO50.  

Havercroft originally joined as head of brand for the Yahoo7 joint venture business formed between Yahoo and the Seven West Media, which was fully acquired by Verizon in 2018. As part of the transition to Verizon ownership and following the short-lived rebranding of the group to Oath, Havercroft was instrumental in rebranding the organisation once more in early 2019 to Verizon Media Business.    

Prior to this, Havercroft worked in senior leadership at MediaCom, rising to managing director of the agency’s Australian business in 2015.  

Havercroft officially finished up at Yahoo on 17 November. The company is now in the process of appointing a new marketing leader.  

She joins TikTok as head of business marketing from 22 November, reporting into Australian general manager, Brett Armstrong.    

“Let’s face it, no matter where you look, there’s no avoiding TikTok. I was first drawn to TikTok as a consumer and love the authenticity, hilarity and connectedness of the community,” Havercroft told CMO. “The platform’s mission to inspire creativity and bring joy really resonates with me and clearly many Aussies given the exponential growth in downloads over the past 12 months.  

“What excites me as a marketer is that TikTok is shifting the paradigm on what it means to advertise in a world where creativity is democratised and the community actively participates in bringing brand messages to life. I’m looking forward to working with the amazing talent at TikTok and helping brands harness the power of diverse communities for growth.”

Yahoo vice-president of A/NZ INSEA, Paul Sigaloff, thanked Havercroft for her efforts during a time of change for the business.  

“Over the past four-and-a-half years, Anny has been a much loved, respected and valued member of the Yahoo family,” he told CMO. “During that time, she’s successfully overseen three rebrands, the launch of Yahoo Finance, delivered countless consumer events and worked closely with our talented team to develop a raft of market-leading B2B programs and B2C campaigns. These contributions have helped drive Yahoo's record performance over the past two years.”  

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