Adam Cahan
Adam Cahan | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 30, 1971 New York, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Technology executive, entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Known for | Senior Vice President of Mobile and Emerging Products at Yahoo!, founder of IntoNow and Auditude |
Adam Cahan (born December 30, 1971) is a prominent American executive in the consumer technology sector, known for his role as Senior Vice President of Mobile and Emerging Products at Yahoo!. In this capacity, he oversaw the product development, engineering, and design teams responsible for Yahoo’s mobile applications, Flickr, and Smart TV initiatives.
Cahan became part of Yahoo in April 2011 after selling his startup IntoNow, a patented consumer application, for a sum estimated between $20 million and $30 million. In 2012, CEO Marissa Mayer appointed him to lead Yahoo’s mobile division, where he expanded the workforce from 50 to more than 900 employees and increased revenue from less than $11 million to $1.8 billion. Under his guidance, Yahoo revamped major apps including Flickr and Mail, introduced News Digest, completed nearly 40 acquisitions, and achieved a monthly mobile user base of 430 million by mid-2014.
Following Verizon’s acquisition of Yahoo, Cahan exited the company in 2017.
Prior to founding IntoNow, Cahan established Auditude, a company specializing in video infrastructure and advertising technology that was acquired by Adobe Systems in 2011.
His professional journey began as an associate producer and wildlife filmmaker with National Geographic Television in Africa from 1993 to 1996. Subsequently, he held leadership positions at MTV Networks, Google, McKinsey & Company, and NBCUniversal. He is also credited with holding two technology patents.
Background and personal life
Originally from New York, Cahan earned his bachelor's degree from Brown University and completed an MBA at Columbia Business School, graduating with honors from Beta Gamma Sigma. His father, Dr. Amos Cahan, was a hematologist and proprietor of Knickerbocker Biologicals, a medical diagnostics company later acquired by Pfizer.
In 1997, he married Samantha Kluge, daughter of billionaire telecommunications executive John Werner Kluge, though the marriage was annulled within the same year. He wed British fashion designer Alice Larkin in 2002; the couple had two daughters before divorcing in 2014. On June 25, 2015, he became father to daughter Alaska with Russian-American model Anne Vyalitsyna.
Cahan currently lives in San Francisco. From June 2014 until ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG’s transition to an SE entity in July 2015, he served on its Supervisory Board. He then continued as a board member of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, with his term scheduled to end after the 2019 Annual Shareholders' Meeting.