Ask.com Staying the Course

IAC/InterActiveCorp's (IACI Quote) Ask.com, which has been gaining market share in search since Barry Diller took it under his wing last year, isn't going to make any major changes under new head Jim Lanzone.

"We feel we have a very strong strategy and it's a matter of execution," says Lanzone, 35, who was named to the job Monday after Steve Berkowitz was hired to run Microsoft's (MSFT Quote) MSN. "It's always a surprise when the top executive leaves the business, but the team feels very confident in the strategy for Ask and the way we operate, and my objective is to keep that going."

Searches at Ask grew 33% in the fourth quarter of last year, according to one study. That's four times as fast as the industry rate and faster than search goliath Google's (GOOG Quote) 25% gain. In February, Ask's search growth remained strong, rising 28% from a year ago, vs. Google's 29%. ...