New York media correspondent Kenneth Li reports:
So persuasive a deal maker was Joanna Shields, who talked Time Warner’s AOL into paying close to $1bn to buy out the UK-based social network, AllThingsD’s Kara Swisher once joked that Ms Shields could sell Obama’s stimulus package to the Republicans.
But the astronomical figure for a web property perceived to be hot among British teenagers, although lagging behind Facebook and MySpace in the US drew enough criticism internally that even Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner chief executive, admitted last year it may have overpaid.
Ms Shields announced on Tuesday she will step down as president of AOL’s People Networks division to return home to London where her family resides, ending her reign overseeing the third leg of AOL’s strategy.
Tim Armstrong, a former Google executive who replaced the dealmakers on the other side of the negotiating table as AOL chief executive, continues to streamline the operation ahead of a likely spin-off from Time Warner.
The well-regarded Ms Shields, also an ex-Google employee as the former managing director of strategic partnerships, will remain as an advisor to AOL on acquisitions and new ventures, Mr Armstrong says in a memo to staff obtained by the FT.
Here’s Ms Shields letter to staff leaked to AllThingsD.
MEMO:
Team –We’re now near the half-way mark of our 100 Day Plan, and we’re making good progress in putting together the details behind the strategic priorities I talked with you about two weeks ago. I’m looking forward to speaking to you more about this later this week at a company All-Hands on Friday.
In the meantime, I want to update you on some organizational news. Joanna Shields has decided to step down from her role as President of People Networks and return to London to reunite her family and explore her entrepreneurial interests. At her core, Joanna is a start-up executive, having taken numerous companies through the process of rapid growth and acquisition.
Following the company’s acquisition of Bebo last year, where Joanna served as chief executive, she moved to New York to help AOL unlock the value of our social assets and re-establish AOL as a leader and innovator in the area of social networking and communications – two areas this company pioneered. The result was numerous innovations in AIM and ICQ, the launch of Socialthing, along with continued upgrades to Bebo. 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.
Please join me in thanking Joanna for her many contributions.
-TA
