27 May 2009 | Author: Yasmin Sulaiman

Joanna Shields parts ways with AOL

Former Bebo executive Joanna Shields has decided to part ways with AOL, little more than a year after the company bought the social network from the entrepreneur. According to a memo issued by AOL CEO Tim Armstrong (picked up by Kara Swisher at All Things Digital), Shields' exit from the internet pioneer will let her spend more time with her family and move them back to London, as well as allowing her to utilise her start-up executive skills.

Shields, a former Google employee like Tim Armstrong, was CEO of Bebo when AOL purchased the website for $850 million in March 2008. Following the acquisition, she moved to AOL's HQ in New York and in her position as head of AOL's People Networks division, was given the task of establishing the company as a leading innovator in the social networking arena.

Despite rumours earlier this year that AOL might be offloading Bebo, the company has offered a range of upgrades to the social network site and other social tools in recent months - most notably Socialthing, a feature that turns websites into interactive destinations by allowing users to share their experiences via Bebo, Twitter, Facebook and more.

However, Bebo's profile has continued to decline with the rise of Twitter this year. Last week, the Guardian's Charles Arthur revealed statistics that showed Twitter has grown so fast in the last five months that it has already eclipsed Bebo and Linkedin.com in popularity. And while the micro-blogging phenomenon might still be some distance away from catching up with larger sites like Facebook and MySpace (on which activity is steadily dropping), this won't come as much of a relief to AOL, whose large outlay on Bebo doesn't seem to have reaped the expected rewards.

In his memo to AOL staff, Armstrong praised Shields' contribution to the company, stating: "At her core, Joanna is a start-up executive, having taken numerous companies through the process of rapid growth and acquisition...

"I'm happy to say that Joanna will continue to serve as an advisor to the company working with our acquisitions and new ventures, so while we won't be seeing her on a daily basis, she will remain an important member of the AOL family."

Armstrong replaced Randy Falco as AOL CEO in March 2009 and is said to favour a more centralised company structure. Last month, AOL owners Time Warner announced that it would spin off its AOL assets into a new company, a move that could possible unstitch the $147 billion merger of the two firms in 2001. A final decision on the spin-off is expected on Thursday May 28.

Home | Careers | RSS | Contact Us | Newsletter

International sites: