NBC Internet appointed Will Lansing chief executive officer, replacing founding head, Chris Kitze. In a statement, Lansing said that NBC Internet will “be in the business of connecting buyers and sellers.”
Lansing had been chairman of Fingerhut, Federated Department Store’s catalog and Interent division. His appointment is seen by many as indicating NBC’s determination to enter e-commerce in a big way. The network’s plans call for matching information about its 17-million users with its growing number of online retailers.
Lansing is also a former executive of General Electric, NBC’s corporate parent. GE owns 44% of NBC Internet. In addition, his background includes being chief operating officer at Prodigy Communications.
Kitze, who was one of the co-founders of Xoom.com, a retailing site that was rolled into NBC Internet last year, will become vice chairman.
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