The Hindu : AOL Time Warner chief to quit

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 14, 2003

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Business

AOL Time Warner chief to quit

NEW DELHI JAN. 13. Faced with anger from shareholders, board members and executives over disappointing results, AOL Time Warner Chairman, Steve Case, has announced that he would give up his post in May, saying it is "in the best interest of the company.''

However Mr. Case, former chief executive of America Online who engineered now troubled merger with Time Warner, would remain director of the firm and co-chair of the strategy committee.

Announcing that he is stepping down from the top job, Mr. Case noted yesterday that some shareholders continue to focus on their disappointment with the company's post merger performance personally on him.

He said the decision was difficult for him. "As an architect of merger, I have felt it was important that I stay to the course as chairman and help get things on track. However, I believe stepping down is in the best interest of the company,'' Mr. Case said in a statement.

He said he had concluded steps should be taken to avoid shareholder criticism of him from "hindering our ability to pull together as a team and focus fully on our businesses.''

His decision to step down at the firm's annual meeting in May where shareholders elect new directors came as a surprise even to some of close associates and analysts say possibility of speculations prior to meeting might have played a role in his decision.

— PTI

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