DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
AOL Inc. named former Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (MSO) Chief Executive Susan Lyne to its board of directors as the company continues to put its leadership together ahead of the online company's upcoming spinoff from Time Warner Inc. (TWX).
Lyne, who will join nine others named to the board last month, took the helm of Gilt Group Inc., an online fashion and travel retailer, in 2008. She served as Martha Stewart's CEO while the company's namesake dealt with her legal troubles. Previously Lyne served in various positions at Walt Disney Co. (DIS) starting in 1998, rising to be president of its ABC Entertainment business.
Since he was hired in April to revive the company, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong also has recruited a slate of new executives. They include leaders of its operations in finance, instant messaging and email, advertising and ventures, which houses new projects and acquisitions. The new team has its work cut out for it as AOL strives to change from a subscription-based service for connecting to the Internet to an ad-supported digital-media company.
While reporting third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, Time Warner said that the spinoff of AOL is still expected before year-end. It also said that a large part of its 6% decline in total revenue in the quarter was attributable to AOL, which saw subscriptions tumble while advertising sales declined sharply.
AOL includes Internet properties such as celebrity gossip site TMZ, social networking site Bebo and online mapping service MapQuest. In addition, AOL offers a search service that relies on technology and advertising revenue supplied through a partnership with Google Inc. (GOOG).
Time Warner announced in May that it plans to spin off AOL to shareholders, effectively ending a troubled marriage that began with a blockbuster, $106 billion merger in 2000.
-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481; Tess.Stynes@dowjones.com;