AOL Reorgs Again, Sales Boss Jeff Levick Out

Yet another management shuffle at AOL, which has been doing this consistently since CEO Tim Armstrong arrived from Google two years ago. The newest headline: Sales chief Jeff Levick, one of Armstrong’s key initial hires, is out, replaced by his former deputy Ned Brody.
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Other departures include two recent hires: Lauren Hurvitz, brought on last fall to run PR; and HR head Kathy Andreasen, who joined at the same time.
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Unlike the last round of body-moving at AOL, this one doesn’t seem to be prompted by the company’s acquisition of Huffington Post; unless I’m missing something in Armstrong’s memo to the staff, published below, no power seems to be shifting to Arianna Huffington or her team.
[UPDATE: An AOL insider posits that the "streamlined GM structure" Armstrong describes in his memo is indeed reflective of Huffington's wishes, noting she "hated" the existing AOL corporate architecture which featured many middle managers.]
It’s not a shock to see Levick leave: The gripe about him from the ad sales industry is that he’s not really an ad sales guy but a brainy analytical type. The problem, according to this line of thinking, is that a huge component of the ad business, even the digital ad business, is still about charisma and a firm handshake — the kind of qualities that Armstrong uses to great effect. Dreambox dm500 hd pvr
The more positive spin is that Levick has helped turn around AOL’s once-decimated sales operation over a long two-year slog, and that he should feel like he accomplished quite a bit.
The company’s last earnings report, in fact, contained a modest surprise, with display ads moving up four percent (overall ad revenue was still down).
But if AOL sales are finally moving in the right direction, why change things now? I just got off the phone with Armstrong, who gave a non-answer about “the opportunity in front of AOL” being so large that it compelled a move: “I feel like our job, specifically my job, is to make sure we make very good long-term decisions about what makes us strongest in the marketplace.”

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