PREMIUM SEARCH Search by job title, geography and build a list of executive contacts
When AOL and Time Warner announced a superstar management team to lead the world's largest media company, one AOL luminary and founding father was conspicuously absent from the executive roster. Ted Leonsis, president of AOL Interactive Properties, co-owner of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards, has been noticeably quiet about his future role in the biggest media merger in history.
But in an interview on June 19, Leonsis said he definitely plans to stick around after the merger is consummated this fall and continue his role as a super-scout who can search out new startups and services that will expand AOL's reach. That's pretty much what he did for AOL as CEO Steve Case's right-hand man during the go-go years of the 90s. He also intends to help blend Time Warner's content into AOL's growing distribution machine. "I'm confident that going forward I will continue to play an important and strategic role in what the future holds," Leonsis said. "The company has been gracious in allowing me to do big things." He said he fully expects to continue under Time Warner's Gerald Levin, who will take the reins as chief executive of the combined entity while Case serves as chairman.
Leonsis was the face of AOL for much of the Nineties, acting as its top entrepreneur, the man responsible for finding young companies and Web services to invest in. Among his successes: The Motley Fool, a hard-edged stockpicking column. Among his not-so-successful ventures: iVillage, a Web site for women that has crumbled in market value. But since Bob Pittman's promotion to AOL president in 1998, Leonsis' role has diminished significantly.
"COMFORTABLE."
Still, he says, "I feel totally involved." Leonsis takes part in high-level integration efforts with Time Warner, he says. "I'm working on some of the major new touchpoints," such as AOL's focus on digital music and the content AOL will gain from having Warner Music. None of this can be done officially, as regulators must first approve the merger. But Leonsis, Case, Pittman, and Time Warner execs are no doubt communicating every day. And if Leonsis has a reduced role in all of this, he doesn't seem to mind. He said he's "comfortable" working for Pittman after the merger. How will Leonsis measure success in that new relationship? "The goal is not to talk to him," he said, because "talking to Pittman often means there's a problem.
"Leonsis has an important role now as head of AOL Interactive Properties. The division exists off to the side of AOL's main subscription business and runs several profitable communication services, including ICQ, AOL MovieFone, and Spinner Networks. These are fast-growing brands. Leonsis is most excited about AOL's Mapquest, MovieFone, and Digital Cities. These properties are growing at a faster rate than AOL as a whole, he says. Leonsis also trumpets ICQ's 62 million customers and 8 million daily users.
But Leonsis' role within the merged company remains a mystery. "Ted was a huge force within this company, and he's good friends with Steve Case and people on the board. But it's questionable whether he's going to be around after the merger," says one longtime AOL employee who is no longer with the company. Another still with AOL adds that "Ted is no longer at the forefront of what AOL is doing." For years, "he was the showman, the guy to have up front, a real character whose role over the past few years has diminished..."
Would Leonsis want Pittman's job? "No, because I already had his job," Leonsis insisted. "My gifts and strengths are being the entrepreneur of this company -- finding new businesses and products and new ways of looking at things."
TROUBLED INVESTORS.
However, he uncharacteristically turned shy when talking about his own postmerger future. When asked if his job would change after the merger, he said he simply doesn't know for sure. "We're not in any of the businesses Time Warner is in, so this is not your typical merger. The Internet has been transforming entire industries, and more and more in these industries, the consumer has control.
"The lack of details on how Time Warner will combine its content with AOL hasn't just left Leonsis dumbstruck -- it also seems to trouble some investors. A marketing manager who once worked with Leonsis, Bob Nicholson was laid off during the Netscape acquisition last year. Although he's sitting on a pile of AOL stock, Nicholson says he's unsure why the merger makes sense. "I digest all of this merger news like a sponge," Nicholson says. "But I still haven't found anyone who can tell me definitively why this is a good thing.
"If Ted Leonsis, longtime AOL visionary, can't say in detail what the merger will bring, perhaps no one can.
By David Shook in New York
EDITED BY DOUGLAS HARBRECHT
Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.
Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed.
Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video.
To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here.
Copyright 2000 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
Printer-Friendly Version
