Why Verizon Chose Former PayPal Executive to Head Finance Brands
By Ruchi GuptaApr. 18 2018, Published 9:07 a.m. ET
Joanna Lambert tapped for a key role at Oath
Verizon (VZ) hired Joanna Lambert, a former PayPal (PYPL) executive, to head its finance and technology brands under its Oath division. The brands include Yahoo Finance, Tanda, and TechCrunch, with Yahoo Finance being one of the world’s largest digital destinations for business and financial news.
In 2017, Verizon closed the acquisition of a portfolio of Yahoo digital operations for $4.5 billion. Verizon acquired AOL two years earlier for $4.8 billion. Oath combines Yahoo, AOL, and other digital assets.
Verizon’s expectations
At Verizon, Lambert is expected to lead the strategy and operations of Oath’s finance and technology brands. Considering that Oath is setting itself up to challenge Google (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB) for digital advertising dollars, the Verizon unit has several expectations of Lambert.
Two expectations stand out prominently. Oath is banking on Lambert to help it turn casual users into a loyal customer base that could be monetized through advertising.
Oath also expects Lambert to help it develop content that appeals to professionals as well as those simply looking to gain some knowledge. In this area, Oath expects that Lambert’s 20-plus years of experience in the financial services industry would be valuable.
PayPal’s customer base expanded more than 15% in 2017
Before joining PayPal, Lambert held an executive role with American Express (AXP). At PayPal, active customers increased 15.2% to 227.0 million at the end of 2017.
