AOL Elects Alberto Ibargüen to Board of Directors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AOL Inc. (NYSE:AOL) today announced that Alberto Ibargüen has been elected to its Board of Directors. Mr. Ibargüen will join the board effective immediately and will serve on the Audit and Finance committee. AOL also announced today that William R. Hambrecht has resigned from the board effective February 15^th in order to devote more time to other business opportunities.

“I am delighted to join Tim Armstrong and an AOL team determined to innovate and win.”

“AOL’s focus on the delivery and sharing of news and information in communities meets an enormous need in a democracy. The range of their experiments in the field will provide knowledge about what actually will work in the digital age, what will be sustainable and profitable as we adapt to changing technology and customer needs and uses,” Ibargüen said. “I am delighted to join Tim Armstrong and an AOL team determined to innovate and win.”

AOL Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong said: “Alberto has a unique background and seat in the transformation of the media industry. He has been one of the most successful publishers in the United States and is helping to lead the future vision of the news space. We are lucky to have a leader like Alberto on our team to help guide AOL into the future. Alberto joins AOL at one of the most interesting periods in the history of the global media industry.”

Armstrong continued, “Bill Hambrecht is one of the greatest financiers and entrepreneurs of our time. We were incredibly fortunate to have him on the AOL board. Bill has been instrumental in guiding the turnaround process at AOL and his leadership, experience, and spirit will be missed. Bill is a friend and mentor and his contributions and creativity will stay with us for many years.”

Ibargüen has been president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation since January 2005. The foundation supports projects that lead to informed and engaged communities. The Knight Foundation supports journalism training programs and funds many dozens of experiments in the delivery of information on digital platforms, as well as a number of local, online news operations. The Knight Foundation also funds programs in the arts and in the use of technology to promote community engagement.

Ibargüen, a graduate of Wesleyan University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, is the former publisher of The Miami Herald. Currently, he is chairman of the board of the World Wide Web Foundation and a member of the boards of PepsiCo, AMR Corp. (American Airlines), ProPublica and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Previously, he served on the boards of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Wesleyan University and was chairman of the boards of PBS and of the Newseum in Washington, D.C. For his work to protect journalists in Latin America as part of the Inter American Press Association, he received a Maria Moors Cabot citation from Columbia University.

AOL’s Board of Directors also includes Richard L. Dalzell, Karen E. Dykstra, Susan M. Lyne, Patricia E. Mitchell, Michael K. Powell, Fredric G. Reynolds, and James R. Stengel.

About AOL

AOL Inc. (NYSE:AOL) is a leading global Web services company with an extensive suite of brands and offerings and a substantial worldwide audience. AOL’s business spans online content, products and services that the company offers to consumers, publishers and advertisers. AOL is focused on attracting and engaging consumers and providing valuable online advertising services on both AOL’s owned and operated properties and third-party websites. In addition, AOL operates one of the largest Internet subscription access services in the United States, which serves as a valuable distribution channel for AOL’s consumer offerings.