Robert Kimmitt, vice chairman of the board and president of Commerce One Inc., is replacing George Vradenburg as AOL Time Warner's executive vice president for global and strategic policy.
Kimmitt will oversee AOL Time Warner's Washington office and domestic and international public policy initiatives, while Vradenburg becomes an advisor to the company focusing on issues such as the digital divide. Kimmitt's credentials guarantee him an in with the current administration-during Bush I he served as Ambassador to Germany, and during the Reagan administration he was undersecretary of state for political affairs, general counsel of the Treasury Department and deputy assistant to the president for the National Security Council.
Kimmitt, 53, also has experience in the private sector. Prior to heading up Commerce One, he was a partner at the Washington law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering and a managing director of Lehman Bros.
Vradenburg, who held executive slots at CBS and Fox before joining AOL in 1997, steps aside from his post a wealthy man. His stock portfolio at times has been valued at over $200 million. He has sold shares worth $22.6 million since Feb. 2001.
- Paige Albiniak
