Card Briefs: Onetime MasterCard Exec Hired at Excite

Former MasterCard executive James Desrosier has been named executive vice president of marketing at Excite Inc., provider of the popular WebCrawler Internet search engine.

Mr. Desrosier, 42, came from Excite competitor Infoseek but before that had spent six years in senior marketing posts at MasterCard International. A senior vice president, he played key roles in debit card strategy and in developing the "Smart Money" advertising campaign.

"Our leading Web brands allow us to attract senior talent with experience building and guiding other leading global brands as large as MasterCard," said George Bell, Excite's president and chief executive officer. "Jim brings a unique combination of strategic branding experience and an insider's understanding of the competitive landscape-the critical skills we need as we continue to grow."

Mr. Desrosier's responsibilities include marketing, advertising, promotion, and public relations campaigns for the Excite, WebCrawler, and Excite Travel by City.Net brands. He will also oversee development of a joint financial services initiative with Intuit Inc.

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