Robert M. Kimmitt, a former ambassador and Wall Street executive with long
Washington policy experience, was named Thursday as AOL Time Warner Inc.'s
executive vice president for global and strategic policy.
Kimmitt, who begins his new job July 1, will replace George Vradenburg, who
will remain an adviser to AOL Time Warner, the company said.
Kimmitt, 53, is president and vice chairman of the board of Commerce One
Inc., an Internet firm with 3,500 employees that helps diverse companies to
engage in electronic trade.
He was U.S. ambassador to Germany under President George H.W. Bush; a partner
in D.C. law firm Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering; and a managing director of
Lehman Bros. Inc. He also held top posts in the State Department and the
Treasury Department.
Vradenburg led America Online Inc.'s effort on Capitol Hill and at the
Federal Communications Commission to require cable operators to provide access
to competing Internet-service providers.
But after AOL announced its merger with Time Warner Inc., Vradenburg moved
AOL in the other direction, saying market forces would resolve access issues and
pledging that AOL Time Warner would sign deals with ISP competitors.
Vradenburg's time at AOL and later with AOL Time Warner was lucrative. Since
Feb. 14, he has sold shares valued at $22.6 million, according to First
Call/Thompson Financial. In 2000, he sold AOL shares worth $16.8
million.
