Yahoo’s PR chief introduces himself with a personal flair

Eric Brown’s detailed and insightful in-house memo has this communicator swooning. Find out why

Have you ever read something so fantastic that you could swoon? No, I’m not referring to Twilight, but to something far deeper—a memo of greeting from the new head of Yahoo public relations to his staff.

The typical memo of introduction is a stiff list of credentials: company names and titles of previous roles, education, and maybe a brief mention about the family. Wrap it up with a standard quote, e.g. “I’m so glad to be joining XYZ Company and look forward to meeting all of you.”

But Yahoo does something very different. First, the Yahoo PR folks completed a questionnaire to help new boss Eric Brown get to know them better. He then responded with a letter to the team that is informative and yet personable. Excerpts are in italics.