Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) shook the head of its AOL LLC unit, replacing chairman and CEO Randy Falco and president and COO Ron Grant with
nine-year Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) vet Tim Armstrong.
In a statement, Web advertising expert Armstrong said, "AOL and Google have been partners for years and I look forward to collaborating with [Time Warner CEO] Jeff Bewkes and his team as we explore the right structure and future for AOL." Bewkes added, "Tim is the right executive to move AOL into the next phase of its evolution. At Google, Armstrong helped build one of the most successful media teams in the history of the Internet."
Armstrong (pictured) was a member of Google's operating committee and served as president, Americas operations. He joined Google in 2000, before it was a household name, and opened its first office outside of the Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. He arrived at Google from Snowball.com, where he was vice president of sales and strategic partnerships, which included equity and marketing investments by New Line Cinema and an exclusive partnership with the NFL.
Armstrong, whose official titles are chairman and CEO of AOL, arrives at a company trying to rebuild the strength of its brand and is now
playing catch-up in social media, using acquisitions to chase Facebook Inc. and News Corp.'s MySpace. In March of 2008 it bought social networking site Bebo for $850 million. Armstrong says AOL is "well positioned to enhance those assets into a larger share of the Internet audience and advertiser communities."
Armstrong's hire also boosted running rumors that TW would spin off AOL soon. -
Baz HiralalSee the AOL announcementGo to the storyAlso see:Google to TW: Spin off AOL? Buy our stake? Do something!AOL cuts 700 employees, 10% of staff
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