From the Bio of Bob Pittman on AOL. This is the man that will tweak the value from the AOL brands. Bet against his record?
Brian
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Robert W. Pittman
President and CEO
AOL Networks
Bob Pittman - innovator, brand-builder and programming pioneer - is President and Chief Executive Officer of America Online Networks, a newly created subsidiary of America Online, Inc., which oversees its flagship Internet online service. He is also a member of the Board of the parent company.
In a career focused largely on the building of branded consumer businesses in media, entertainment and technology, Pittman -- perhaps best known as the programmer who created MTV and the marketer who turned the Six Flags Theme Parks into a national brand -- has charted new ground in radio, television and cable network programming, the theme park industry and most recently, real estate. Pittman has brought his innovative leadership to AOL Networks, the world's most popular Internet online service with nearly 7 million customers and more than $1 billion in annual revenues.
Under Pittman's leadership as managing partner and chief executive officer of the CENTURY 21 system, the largest consumer real-estate organization in the world, the system set in motion a historic transformation of the real-estate industry. Pittman introduced a trend-setting, call-to-action advertising campaign that dramatically increased the system's industry-leading consumer preference, ushered in the era of one-stop shopping for home-related products and services and developed two innovative technology ventures with America Online.
During his tenure as chief executive officer and president of Time Warner Enterprises and chairman and CEO of Six Flags Entertainment, Six Flags executed a national brand strategy which resulted in four straight years of record attendance growth (from 18 to 24 million annual visitors), revenues and earnings, unaided national brand awareness rose to 65% from 37%, and nearly doubled the market value of the company. Time Warner Enterprises participated in the development of the company's interactive strategies and oversaw several entertainment and media investments. Prior to his tenure at Time Warner Enterprises, Pittman served as Executive Advisor to the former Chairman and CEO, Steve Ross, during the merger of Warner Communications and Time Inc.
Under his direction as Chief Operating Officer, and later CEO, of MTV Networks, MTV became the first profitable basic cable network company in the world. Pittman also oversaw the creation of VH-1 and Nick at Nite, the relaunch of Nickelodeon, and the company's global expansion and 1984 Initial Public Offering. As head of programming at Warner-Amex he developed The Movie Channel.
From 1987 to 1989, shortly after the purchase of MTV Networks by Viacom, Pittman became president and CEO of Quantum Media, Inc., an entertainment company he founded with MCA, Inc., which created TV programming such as Totally Hidden Video on the Fox Network; the first cinema-verite style production, The Street; the first tabloid TV talkshow, The Morton Downey Jr. Show.
Pittman's career began at age 15 as a part-time radio disk jockey in his native Mississippi. As a radio program director, he produced the top-rated radio station in the country, the top country music station and Chicago's top-rated rock FM station. He also produced and hosted a weekly TV music news and video show for the NBC-owned and operated TV stations -- all before he was 25 years old.
Pittman currently serves on the board of directors of America Online, Excite, Inc., HFS Incorporated, 3DO and AMRE Inc. and was formerly a director of Electronic Arts, Atari Games Corporation and MTV Networks, Inc. |
