InfoSpace today announced that William Lansing is its new chief executive, succeeding Jim Voelker, who is retiring.

They actually made the switch on Monday, and Voelker is staying as chairman through 2010.

"InfoSpace's strong balance sheet, metasearch applications, consumer Web sites, and its highly talented employees will translate into attractive opportunities over the next few years,'' Lansing said in the release. "Jim has done a great job in building shareholder value during his tenure. I'm looking forward to working with the InfoSpace team and board to continue in that tradition."

Lansing started his career as a securities lawyer, worked for Jack Welch at General Electric and went on to lead several high profile companies.

He was previously president and chief executive of Value Vision Media, where he launched Shop NBC.TV. Earlier, he was a partner at private equity firm General Atlantic Partners; chief executive of NBC Internet and chief executive of Fingerhut, where he led its sale to Federated Department Stores.

At GE, he was vice president of business development. Before that, he was chief operating officer of Prodigy, where he led a management buyout that took the IBM-Sears joint venture private.

Lansing, a Wesleyan University English major and Georgetown Law graduate, is on the boards of Digital River, RightNow Technologies and Fair Isaac.

InfoSpace stock didn't move much after the news was released. It closed down 0.48 percent, at $8.21.