Tim Armstrong didn’t need the job, but he decided to accept Time Warner’s offer to become the CEO of AOL anyway. Why?
That’s the first question I have for Tim when he joins us at Web 2 next week. What do you want me to ask him?
As you most likely know, Tim came to AOL from Google, where he ran North American ad sales for years. Clearly, Tim relishes a challenge, and sees an opportunity. And, while Tim probably is too politic to discuss it, AOL will be spun out soon, and either go public or become an independent entity (unwinding the most disastrous new/old media merger in recent history).
So…what do you want to know from Tim? I’ve got my own list – which I’ve discussed with Tim already – but you all will have even better ideas, as usual…
Others we’ll be interviewing (and I’ve asked for your help):
To come: Aneesh Chopra, Austan Goolsbee, Paul Otellini, Tim Berners Lee, and more. An amazing lineup and less than one week away!
Also, remember to tweet your questions for any of the folks above with the #w2s hashtag for a chance to win a free Web 2 Summit pass – we’ll be picking three at random to win…
I’d like to know why Armstrong feels it is necessary to pay millions of dollars to a consulting firm to tell him how many people AOL should fire. What was the point of all his 100 day assessment and replacing senior AOL execs with Google folks? Is that not what Tim and his senior staff’s job is?
How much will search be a part of the AOL picture going forward? Will they do anything to attract more searchers?
Tim Armstrong was born November 25 in 1965. He has two brothers- Jeff and Greg; Greg is in the army. At the age of six, Armstrong met Matt Freeman while playing Little League Baseball in California. Freeman became one of his best friends and the bass player for Rancid. Armstrong and Freeman grew up together in Albany, California. Embracing punk culture during high school, Armstrong’s favorite groups were the Clash and the Ramones.