Yahoo! to Name New Communications Chief

Yahoo!

(YHOO)

plans to hire Eric Brown, currently vice president of corporate relations for

NetApp

(NTAP) - Get Report

, to run communications for the Internet company, a report says.

Brown's expected appointment ends a months-long search to fill in a senior role. He will work closely with Yahoo's new chief marketing officer Elisa Steele, reports the

Wall Street Journal

, citing people familiar with the matter. Steele and Brown worked together at NetApp.

Brown is the latest senior executive that CEO Carol Bartz and her new management team have hired out of the business software industry, the

Journal

notes.

Yahoo!'s former chief communications officer Jill Nash resigned earlier this year. Brad Williams, who was running communications after her departure, was laid off last month, according to people familiar with the matter, the

Journal

reports.