AOL reorganizes, creates three new groups
Company says that the move is designed to drive growth and profitability and that the three groups will be under the leadership of new COO Artie Minson Jr.
AOL announced two substantial changes to its business this morning.
First up, the company says it has promoted CFO Artie Minson Jr. to chief operating officer. In his new role, Minson will be in charge of three new units AOL that has established as part of a reorganization focused on "driving growth and improved profitability."
According to AOL, it's business will now be aligned in three distinct operating groups -- AOL Membership, Content Brands, and Advertising.com. All three operating units will report directly to Minson. A fourth group, made up of sales, technology, communications, brand marketing, and other support areas, will report to CEO Tim Armstrong.
AOL's Membership group will include the company's legacy products, such as access to AOL's Web services, AOL Mail, and AOL.com. The Content Brands Group will include the company's current content brands, including The Huffington Post and TechCrunch. As one might expect, the Advertising.com group will focus on business-to-business services and advertising.
AOL's reorganization is just the latest move the company has undertaken to improve its long-ailing business. This week, the company said that it will buy back up to $400 million of its stock in a Dutch auction. Current shareholders will have until August 2 to participate in the sale.
Whether the reorganization will improve AOL's standing in the online world, though, remains to be seen. For years and years, the company has been searching for a solution to its woes and has tried everything from hiring new management to acquiring online properties. Still, its performance has been middling, at best.
AOL says that it's currently working on "detailed profitability information" related to the reorganization and will present the data to shareholders by year's end.
This story has been updated throughout the morning.