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Microsoft nabs another Yahoo exec

Larry Heck, a vice president in Yahoo's search business, will start in a few weeks.

Ina Fried Former Staff writer, CNET News
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley.
Ina Fried

Microsoft is continuing its one-employee-at-a-time acquisition of Yahoo.

The software maker confirmed late Wednesday that it has hired Larry Heck, a Yahoo vice president.

Microsoft said that Heck will start in a few weeks and report to Satya Nadella, senior vice president of the online services division of Microsoft's R&D group.

"We look forward to welcoming him to the team," Microsoft said in a statement.

Heck is the latest in a string of executives to move from Yahoo to Microsoft, with the most notable being Qi Lu, who now runs Microsoft's online unit. Other high profile hires by Microsoft include Sean Suchter and Scott Moore.

Heck's early tenure at Yahoo was marked by controversy. After he joined the company from speech recognition technology maker Nuance Communications, Nuance sued Yahoo, saying Heck helped poach a dozen workers from Nuance.

Microsoft, which last year offered billions to buy Yahoo, has said it remains interested in a search partnership.

Heck's hiring was reported earlier Wednesday by Bloomberg News.