Yahoo's Former Chief Revenue Officer Exits To Join Millennial Media

Barrett joined Yahoo in June 2012 during a period of turmoil in Yahoo's upper ranks. By October that year he was on the outs.

We're updating this story as we go along.

Here's the press release from Millennial:

January 27, 2014 09:01 AM Eastern Standard Time

BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Millennial Media (NYSE: MM) announced today that company founder and CEO Paul Palmieri has resigned from his post as CEO and from its board of directors effective immediately. Mr. Palmieri will join New Enterprise Associates (NEA) as Venture Advisor focused on technology out of its Chevy Chase, Maryland office.

"Some time ago, I expressed my desire to the board to transition out of the company, and return to working with early stage entrepreneurs"

"Some time ago, I expressed my desire to the board to transition out of the company, and return to working with early stage entrepreneurs," said Palmieri. "The board and I worked collaboratively as it sought to identify a strong CEO for the next phase of the company's growth. I'm excited about the company's future, and confident of the team's ability to continue executing on our vision to transform advertising through mobile."
To replace Palmieri, Millennial Media announced today the appointment of Michael Barrett as CEO and member of its board of directors. Mr. Barrett was most recently Chief Revenue Officer at Yahoo!. Prior to Yahoo!, he was the CEO of AdMeld, a programmatic supply side platform acquired by Google in 2011. Mr. Barrett has had a long career in advertising and media, having served as Chief Revenue Officer at AOL and Fox Interactive Media among other executive leadership roles.

"Paul Palmieri has demonstrated masterful entrepreneurship in taking Millennial from a concept, through competition, growth, scale, and transition to a fast growing public company and leader in its industry," said Patrick Kerins, General Partner, NEA and the company's lead independent director. "Paul's vision has consistently been out in front of industry shifts, and his strategic execution has positioned the company at the center of the mobile-led, cross screen and programmatic future of digital advertising."

"Michael Barrett is an exceptional leader who has shown incredible skill in leading companies and teams to big success in the digital advertising industry," said Wenda Millard, President of Medialink and member of Millennial Media's board of directors. "Millennial Media is well positioned, and there is no executive better suited to lead Millennial Media's next phase of growth. With Michael's diverse expertise in scaling advertising businesses in both the brand and programmatic spaces, he will be instrumental in taking the company to the next level."

"I am honored and thrilled to join Millennial Media at such an exciting time at the company, and within the industry," said Michael Barrett. "The mobile market is on a steep growth trajectory and I look forward to building on the leadership position Paul and the team have created to bring Millennial to new heights. I have long admired the company's ability to deliver superior monetization to its publishers and developer partners and powerful ad solutions to its brand and performance advertisers. This was simply an irresistible career opportunity for me to pursue."

Earlier today, Millennial Media issued preliminary Q4 financial results and announced the date for its Fourth Quarter earnings call.