Industry “influencer” Mike Kelly ousted from AOL

September 18, 2007
by Latitude

Mike Kelly, who has been running AOL’s search business, was suddenly and very unexpectedly ejected from the company on Monday.

Kelly was also recently named one of the 50 most influential people in advertising by Mediaweek, which – depending on your perspective – is either a commentary on the credibility of such lists or a hopeful note for Kelly’s job search.

If it seems like it was only a few weeks ago that I was wishing that AOL CEO Randy Falco would acknowledge the very fundamental change his company was undergoing – from dial-up internet access provider to ad business – that’s because it was. Now, in a leaked internal company memo, Falco says:

AOL has been undertaking one of the most complex transformations any major company has attempted…

Falco owned up to this as he explained Kelly’s removal from AOL, the relocation of corporate HQ from Virginia to New York City, and plenty of other internal changes. Watch this space to see if these adjustments help AOL to gain search share and become the company it thinks it needs to be.