Wenda Harris Millard, Yahoo!'s top North American saleswoman, has left the company for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, where she will serve as president.

David Karnstedt will head a combined search and display sales unit.

"Integrating our world-class search and display sales teams under David's leadership will allow us to better serve all of our advertisers' marketing objectives ranging from brand awareness to direct response," said Sue Decker, president, Yahoo. "This is one of many important steps we're taking to re-invigorate our display business, further build on our industry-leading position in advertising, and drive thought-leadership in the online advertising marketplace."

Millard's departure and Karnstedt's ascent comes on the heels of a shift at the top, as Yahoo founder Jerry Yang stepped in to head the company after CEO Terry Semel announced his departure.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Millard's departure was independent of the decision to reorganize the company's sales strategy.

"I feel badly that Yahoo has had such a tough time lately," said Millard in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "And I'm sorry they announced the story this way because clearly I resigned and I have a great new job."