Execs and Accounts for April 8, 2002

Yahoo has hired Daniel Finnigan as senior vice president of Yahoo and executive vice president and general manager of online recruiter HotJobs, which was acquired by Yahoo in February 2002.

Finnigan replaces Dimitri Boylan, HotJobs’ former acting president and CEO, who exited the company at the end of March. HotJobs will no longer employ a president or chief executive, and Finnigan’s will be the online recruiter’s top job going forward.

Finnigan will be responsible for all HotJobs operations, including integration with Yahoo and expansion of HotJobs’ position in the online recruitment space. Finnigan will be based in New York City and will report to Greg Coleman, executive vice president of North American operations.

Finnigan most recently served as president of Knight Ridder Digital. In that role, he was responsible for all of Knight Ridder’s Web products and operations. Earlier, Finnigan was president and CEO of SBC Interactive, where he launched and operated SMARTpages.com, an online yellow pages directory for telephone directories across the U.S. Additionally, Finnigan has served on the boards of such companies as Belo Corporation , Gannett Company , and The New York Times Company .

“Dan has invested his career in the online listings and classifieds business since the Web’s inception,” said Coleman. “Recognized as one of the best Internet executives in the newspaper industry, he brings a unique perspective that we believe will help Yahoo and HotJobs attract a greater share of recruitment advertising dollars as they continue to migrate online.”

The appointment comes about three months after Yahoo outbid TMP Worldwide to acquire the New York-based HotJobs for $436 million. Yahoo closed its acquisition of HotJobs on February 12, 2002.

Gregory FCA Communications, a Philadelpiha-based public and investor relations firm, has been acquired from U.S. Technologies. The acquiring party is a management team led by original stockholder and founder Gregory Matusky, who will serve as president. Under the deal, the company’s management remains intact, with Doug Rose continuing his role as chief operating officer and David Evanson remaining as president of investor relations.

“Our independence provides us the flexibility to better serve our stable of regional and national accounts, while positioning us to fully capitalize on an improving economy,” said Matusky.

Interactive television provider GoldPocket Interactive has hired Joe Franzetta as senior vice president of corporate development and strategic partnerships. Franzetta’s background includes three years as senior vice president of corporate development and strategy at Mixed Signals Technologies, another iTV provider. He also has ten years of corporate legal experience, most recently as vice president of the corporate legal department at Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT) has tapped interactive marketer DEI Worldwide to launch its first Web campaign, promoting Nevada as the ideal destination for adventure travelers. The launch — an extension of a print advertising campaign launched earlier this year — will include a new adventure section on the commission’s Web site as well as media buys on travel-focused message boards and other travel sites. DEI will work with NCOT’s agency, R&R Partners in Reno.

“Our research showed that the perception of Nevada is Las Vegas and of a dry, barren landscape.” said Caryn Swobe, managing director of R&R Partners’ Reno office. “But Nevada has 314 mountain ranges, as well as trails, canyons, forests, cliffs, sand dunes and public land.”

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