AOL Taps NBC Exec as New CEO

AOL said Thursday that it had named former president and COO of NBC Universal Randy Falco as the new chairman and CEO of AOL. Falco replaces Jonathan Miller, who had served as the company's CEO since 2002, and confirms rumors that he was about to leave.

While publicly Time Warner executives commended Miller and disputing rumors of his exit, the Wall Street Journal says that sources within the company say a move to find a successor had been underway for months.

He had overseen AOL's early transition to an ad-based business, with a 46 percent jump in ad revenue in the third quarter. However, inside the company Miller was not broadly accepted, which sources say prevented him from running the company well.

Either way, Miller put on a positive public face in his exiting remarks. "Rarely do you come into an organization with as many challenges as AOL faced when I arrived and then have the great satisfaction of putting it on sound footing," he said.

"I deeply appreciate the unwavering effort and support from the wonderful people at AOL, and I wish them, Randy and Time Warner all the best in the future."

Falco has not run an Internet company the size of AOL before, but his experience in advertising is what drew the company to him. Time Warner COO Jeff Bewkes said that Falco "brings the right tools to run AOL" as it switches to a advertising-based revenue structure.

"I'm truly excited about joining the superb teams at AOL and Time Warner," Falco said in a statement. "I see a tremendous opportunity for meaningful growth at AOL and will work hard with the fine people at AOL to make sure the company lives up to its full potential."