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Ellen Siminoff

Ellen Siminoff (born 1967, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an entrepreneur, board member and investor.[2] Frequently quoted in The New York Times as an Internet industry commentator,[3][4][5][6] Siminoff was named one of Forbes magazine's Masters of Information in 2005.[7]

Along with her husband, David Siminoff, Ellen is co-founder and former chief executive officer of Shmoop.[8]

Life and education

Siminoff obtained a BA in economics from Princeton University and an MBA from Stanford University,[9] where she met her husband David Siminoff while they were students at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.[10] She also has a Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies Software Engineering from Harvard University.[11]

Career

Siminoff is a seasoned executive in the media and technology sectors, From 2007 to 2018, she served as president and CEO of Shmoop University, an educational publishing company.[12] Prior to this role, she was president and CEO of Efficient Frontier, a company specializing in dynamic Search Engine Marketing (SEM) management services, which was later acquired by Adobe.[13]

Yahoo!

Siminoff was a founding executive at Yahoo!,[14] working at the company from 1996 to 2002.[15] She started by running corporate and business development, running mergers and acquisitions after the departure of J. J. Healy.[16] Later Siminoff moved to Senior Vice President of Entertainment and Small Business, with Toby Coppel and Jeff Weiner taking over corporate development.[17] Six months later, Yahoo announced on April 13, 2002, that Siminoff decided to leave the company but would stay through until the end of the year.[18][16] Her departure was part of a high-profile exodus of Yahoo executives, including CEO Timothy Koogle, CFO Gary Valenzuela, sales chief Anil Singh, head of international operations Heather Killen, and marketing head Karen Edwards.[18]

Efficient Frontier

Siminoff was former chairman and CEO of Efficient Frontier.[19] In July 2006 Bloomberg Businessweek noted that Efficient Frontier was the largest buyer of search advertising keywords on Google,[20] and in March 2008 Silicon Alley Insider named Efficient Frontier one of the 25 most valuable privately held companies in Silicon Valley, valued at an estimated $275 million.[21] Adobe Inc. bought Efficient Frontier for $400 million in 2012.[22][23]

Zynga

In 2012, she was appointed to Zynga Inc.'s board of directors.[24] In November 2012, Siminoff purchased 250,000 shares of the company.[25] She served on Zynga's board from 2012 to 2022, where she was a member of the Audit Committee and chaired the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.[26]

Take-Two Interactive

Ellen Siminoff became a director of Take-Two Interactive in May 2022, following the company's merger with Zynga.[27][28][29][30][31]

Other board positions

Siminoff has been on the board of directors for Journal Media Group,[32] U.S. Auto Parts,[33] Mozilla Corporation, SolarWinds, Discovery Education and Zynga.[34][35][36]

She serves as executive chairman of BigCommerce (BIGC) and Verifone, a global payments platform, Follett Software[37] and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO).[38][39] She has also been involved with Stanford University's Graduate School of Business Advisory Board,[40] Princeton University's President's Advisory Council,[41] and Stanford's Hoover Institution Board of Overseers.[42]

References

  1. Trewyn, Phill. "Ex-Yahoo! exec from Milwaukee plots next move," Milwaukee Business Journal (Feb 17, 2002).^
  2. Entrepreneurial Women Who Inspire Us www.8vc.com^
  3. John Markoff. Rumors Fly on Microsoft and Yahoo The New York Times, 2007-05-05^
  4. Miguel Helft. Industry Insiders Praise Yahoo Choice for Key Post The New York Times, 2006-12-07^
  5. Miguel Helft. Google Cutting 300 Jobs at DoubleClick The New York Times, 2008-04-03^
  6. Miguel Helft. A Long-Delayed Ad System Has Yahoo Crossing Its Fingers The New York Times, 2007-02-05^
  7. Quentin Hardy. 2005 E-Gang: The Keyword Keeper Forbes.com, 2005-09-05, retrieved 2013-10-07^
  8. Ringle, Hayley. "Silicon Valley edtech company founded by former Yahoo executive moves HQ to Scottsdale: Affordable talent a driving factor in company relocation, exec says," Phoenix Business Journal (July 1, 2019).^
  9. Q&A with Efficient Frontier's Ellen Siminoff iMediaConnection.com, retrieved 2013-10-07^
  10. Kara SwisherStaff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal. The Couple of Silicon Valley: They Are Definitely Connected Wall Street Journal, 6 January 1999, retrieved 27 May 2020^
  11. Past Lecturers and Fellows gilbertlectures.princeton.edu^
  12. Owen Thomas. Zynga Taps A Veteran Of Yahoo's Glory Days To Its Board Business Insider, retrieved 2024-10-12^
  13. Zynga appoints former Yahoo exec to board Reuters, 19 July 2012^
  14. Steven Musil. Zynga adds ex-Yahoo exec Ellen Siminoff to board of directors CNET, retrieved 27 May 2020^
  15. Douglas MacMillan. Zynga Adds Diversity to Board With Yahoo Veteran Ellen Siminof www.bloomberg.com, 2012-07-19, retrieved 27 May 2020^
  16. Karen Angel. Inside Yahoo!: Reinvention and the Road Ahead John Wiley & Sons, 2002^
  17. Yahoo! Directors & Officers Yahoo^
  18. Jim Hu. Yahoo loses key senior exec CNET, retrieved 27 May 2020^
  19. Board Members Efficient Frontier^
  20. Efficient Frontier: Hacking Madison Avenue BusinessWeek, 2006-07-23, retrieved 2013-10-07^
  21. 23. Efficient Frontier Business Insider, 2008-03-28, retrieved 2014-05-05^
  22. Jeremy Bloom. Fueled By Failure: Using Detours and Defeats to Power Progress Entrepreneur Press, 2015^
  23. Adobe Completes Acquisition of Efficient Frontier Adobe, 2012-01-16, retrieved 27 May 2020^
  24. Zynga appoints former Yahoo exec to board Reuters, 19 July 2012^
  25. Owen Thomas. A Zynga Board Member BOUGHT $560,000 Worth Of Zynga Stock Last Week Business Insider^
  26. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. - ir.take2games.com^
  27. Bilton, Nick. "At Mozilla, a Chief’s Support of Gay Marriage Ban Causes Conflict," New York Times (MARCH 31, 2014).^
  28. Leadership Changes Mozilla, March 24, 2014, retrieved March 24, 2014^
  29. Alistair Barr. Three Mozilla Board Members Resign over Choice of New CEO WSJ, retrieved 2017-08-04^
  30. Casey Newton. Outfoxed: how protests forced Mozilla's CEO to resign in 11 days The Verge, 3 April 2014, retrieved 25 May 2020^
  31. Susana Kim. Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich Resigns After Protests from Gay Marriage Supporters ABC News, April 3, 2014, retrieved April 3, 2014^
  32. Journal Communications, Inc. Elects Ellen Siminoff to Board of Directors Business Wire, February 14, 2007^
  33. Ellen F. Siminoff. Ellen Siminoff: Executive Profile & Biography BusinessWeek, retrieved 2013-10-07^
  34. Abigail Tracy. Zynga adds Ellen Siminoff to Board of Directors Inc, 2012-07-20, retrieved 2016-11-29^
  35. Zynga Appoints Ellen Siminoff to Board of Directors Zynga, 2012-07-19^
  36. Will Anderson. SolarWinds' board transformed in wake of private equity buyout Austin Business Journal, retrieved 27 May 2020^
  37. The Jewish Graduate Student Initiative www.gojgo.org^
  38. Corporate Governance Highlights www.take2games.com^
  39. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. - ir.take2games.com, retrieved 2024-10-12^
  40. Ellen Siminoff: "Learn How to Sell" Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2024-04-30, retrieved 2024-10-12^
  41. Ellen Siminoff, '89 New Ventures, retrieved 2024-10-12^
  42. ellen siminoff Hoover Institution^