AOL’s EVP of Products and Marketing Kevin Conroy is leaving to take a new position at Univision.
This isn’t much of a surprise – we speculated on his future back in July when he announced (internally) the shuttering of four of his products (Xdrive, AOL Pictures, Bluestring and MyMobile). That still left him with AOL Mail, MYAOL, the AOL client, Userplane and Truveo, among others. But each of those products seemed to be a better fit in a different organization.
CEO Randy Falco’s memo to AOLers:
Dear AOL colleague,
I’m writing to tell you that Kevin Conroy has accepted a position as President of Interactive Media at Univision. I want to thank Kevin for all he’s done on behalf of AOL during his time here, particularly over the past two years. I’m proud to have worked with Kevin and happy for him as he takes on this new role.
When I arrived here two years ago, I asked Kevin to take on one of the most important and difficult assignments – to completely revamp and revitalize AOL’s suite of products, while at the same time globalizing product development and expanding our reach across the Web. I knew Kevin had the drive and discipline needed to meet and exceed this challenge.
Under Kevin’s leadership, for example, AOL Mail made a dramatic turnaround, with a steady stream of upgrades and globalization (it’s available in 48 locales) that generated a 31% increase in page views last year. Our products are now more open to developers, more widely distributed through widgets and gadgets, and are at long last back on the Mac. The iPhone apps developed under Kevin’s leadership have been huge hits, generating millions of downloads. AOL now has a strong position in video and video search, an innovative partnership with CBS Radio, a strong lineup of toolbars, reinvigorated Winamp and SHOUTcast products, and the all-new AOL Desktop. At the same time, Kevin refined our product lineup so we could devote more resources to our key products.
Having done all this and much more, Kevin told me that he very much wanted to return to his media roots. If you don’t know, Kevin came to AOL eight years ago from BMG Entertainment, and his first assignment at AOL was to build AOL Music, which is now the leading music destination on the Web. At Univision, Kevin will be responsible for developing both online and mobile experiences for the nation’s fastest-growing audience. While we’re saying goodbye to Kevin, it’s my hope that we’ll continue to work with him in his new role.
We’ll be providing transition details about the Products organization soon. In the meantime, please join me in offering Kevin our very best wishes on his future endeavors.
Randy
does he speak Spanish?
AOL Sucks.
ME TOO
> does he speak Spanish?
I wonder, is this question ,someone would ask, after reading this post?
- mani
http://ExcuseMeWorld.com
As per Steve Jobs, “You’ve got to find what you love.”
It seems that you are returning to your first love.
Best of wishes Kevin !
is this the guy responsible for the purchase of BeeBow? whats the status of that acquisition?
MessageLocator.com – note worthy
AOL stopped marketing years ago.
good article, almost seems like AOL gave up years ago though.
aol still exists?
Hey Michael,
“In January 2008 Kevin Conroy left AOL to become President Interactive Media for Univision. …”
You haven’t today, eh?
It is 2009, not “2008″ …
Go and sleep now.
http://friendfe...om/onlinebackup
Your so late to this story, but thanks for showing up. There are some leftover h’orderves by the punch bowl.
What – AOL is still around?!
absolutely. my brother uses them.
shouldn’t that be:
In January 2009 Kevin Conroy left AOL ….
Another one leaves the sinking ship. What a surprise
In other news: “Time Warner expects $25B charge, loss for year” http://finance....f-13993403.html
What actually is surprising — or should be surprising, at least if the current incarnation of Amerika wasn’t a place where they reward the destruction of value and bailout sh*tty companies and executives — is that these guys aren’t demoted to McJobs where they can’t do so much damage.
So who’s going to be the voice of Batman now?
(yes, I know it’s Deidrich Bader in Batman: Brave and the Bold – I am a nerd after all…)
Salaam Bismillah
My Name is Susan Mohammad i am 16years old the daughter of late Abdallah Mohammad from Afghanistan who died in suicide bomb in Baghdad Iraq .he was one of the Taliban members in Afghanistan before My father death he try his possible best. to make sure that his family is comfortable.but after my father death my mother became mad and i did not have anybody here in Nigeria am only a student in Lagos capital city of Nigeria .but i have a little money as a student which i have already used in taking care of her.but the big problem i have is that there is no Afghanistan embassy in Nigeria before my mother became mad she told me that my father deposited the sum of $18.5million u.s dollars in a fist deposit account which am the next of kin i have contacted the bank to give me the money and they explained to me that because of my age i cannot be able to withdraw the fund $18.5Million u.s dollar that i must have a foreign partner so that they can transfer the fund into my pertner account. please am asking for assistance with the name of almighty Allah for you help me so that the bank will transfer this money into your own personal account as my foreign partner and you will also send money to me from the fund so that i will prepare my travel document immediately the fund is transferred into your account and also relocate me and my mother to have a better life. the name of the hospital is POLAND TEACHING HOSPITAL Nigeria i will give you 40% out of the total sum send your information such as Full name house address nationality.(etc)
to the glory of almighty allah.[this is my email,maira_mohammad@inMail24.com
.
Bismillahi tawakkaltu Allah-lah La haula wala quuwata illa billa
Sincerely MAIRA
Wow, a lot of pretty useless comments here.
I actually feel a little sorry for those who will never have a chance to work for someone like Kevin. He is famously tough on people, and yet 90% of the people I’ve talked to today have said that they hope to work for him again in the future. At AOL, he was given a big business and little resources with which to grow it–and yet he grew the audience and traffic substantially. I’d bet on Kevin being a pretty big hit at Univision.
(You can continue with the useless, off-topic comments now.)
RE: “He is famously tough on people”: At least he’s famous for something. But if that’s the nicest thing anyone AOL and Kevin fluffers can say, then that really shines a light. How about famous for getting the results he was hired to get even if poor baby had “little resources” even though he worked for one of the biggest media companies in the world. Please.
Oh, and I see breaking a leg and never missing a beat is something else he is famous for, but isn’t that standard procedure for many broken legs? It has been for literally every person I’ve known to break a leg (and arm). I’ve broken both arms (one with bones sticking out), a toe, skull, cheek bone, and had the tip of my right hip bone sawed off for a bone graft. I never missed a beat from all that… because that’s normal… it’s what you do (unless you’re a kid, maybe).
Chrisco wrote:
“I’ve broken both arms (one with bones sticking out), a toe, skull, cheek bone, and had the tip of my right hip bone sawed off for a bone graft. I never missed a beat from all that… because that’s normal”
Chrisco, that is NOT normal. You didn’t miss a beat? Buddy, you didn’t miss a BEATING. You do NOT have to take that abuse! Please find a battered men’s shelter and GET AWAY FROM HER!
I know that it’s easy for men of “normal” constitution to laugh at battered husbands, but it is a serious problem for smaller, emotionally inferior men. Please get help, Chrisco.
@ Eureka ???
Kevin rocks, dude broke his leg, and didn’t miss a beat, He certainly outlasted many of his peers. Rockstar all the way.
Kevin is an outstanding professional who is both incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. I wish him luck in his new role.
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Consultant @ ElephantDrive