UPDATE: Yahoo globally restructures zoning and consolidates regions

According to the company’s website, the emerging markets business group, headquartered in Singapore, is responsible for markets including Southeast Asia, India, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

In Asia, the restructure sees senior VP for Asia, Rose Tsou (pictured), expand her role to include the management of Southeast Asia, which will be headed by Ken Mandel, and India, headed by Arun Tadanki. Tsou currently oversees Yahoo’s operations in Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.

According to a Yahoo spokesperson, the move was made to strengthen its focus on emerging countries and align company-wide resources. The changes are effective 1 April.

The company will further create a position, called the global initiatives SVP, to focus on its supporting global relationships and alliances. The executive will report directly to CEO Carol Bartz.

According to a Yahoo spokesperson, the new position was filled by Keith Nilsson, who headed up Yahoo’s emerging markets region. Nilsson will relocate from Singapore to Yahoo’s headquarters in California to assume the new role.

According to a source close to Yahoo, the move makes sense for the company as Yahoo considers many of its emerging markets to have already emerged.

“Just look at Southeast Asia alone – less than five years ago, there were less than 20 million internet users. Now there are more than 100 million. That’s a 500 per cent increase in a few years,” the source noted. “In terms of the internet, Southeast Asia should not be designated as an up-and-comer – it’s arrived.”

The news comes the same week that Yahoo posted positive fourth-quarter results, reporting revenue of US$1.73 billion, a 10 per cent increase from the same period a year earlier but a four per cent drop from its third quarter.