March 12th, 2009
AOL names Google's Tim Armstrong CEO
Time Warner revamped AOL’s management team Thursday naming Google senior vice president Tim Armstrong CEO of its struggling Internet unit. Time Warner said current AOL chief Randy Falco and operating chief Ron Grant will leave the company.
The writing on the wall: Time Warner is planning to make a go of AOL—at least for a while—after exploring various options such as a convoluted potential partnership with Yahoo.
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said in a statement (Techmeme):
“Tim is the right executive to move AOL into the next phase of its evolution…We are privileged to have him preside over AOL as its audience and programming businesses continue to grow and its advertising platform expands globally. He’ll also be helpful in helping Time Warner determine the optimal structure for AOL.”
That last comment is interesting. Is the optimal structure an AOL embedded in the Time Warner empire or separated somehow? It’s doubtful that Armstrong would join AOL to be a mere caretaker.
Armstrong in a canned quote also mentioned “the right structure and future for AOL.”
Bottom line: More change is around the corner for AOL.
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Smart Planet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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