Microsoft Asks Ask.com CEO to Head MSN

Maybe the butler did it! Microsoft has tapped Ask.com's former CEO Steve Berkowitz to head up MSN.

Microsoft has announced it has hired former Ask.com CEO Steve Berkowitz to head up its MSN business unit. Berkowitz will join the Redmond software giant as a senior vice president on May 8, 2006. Berkowitz formerly headed up IAC’s search engine Ask.com, which used to be identifiable by its iconic butler mascot.

The management change comes as Microsoft gears up to compete in the Internet services market with rivals Yahoo and Google, and amid questions about the role of MSN as a brand. As Microsoft rolls out more Internet-based applications and services under its “Live” monicker