AOL UK Gets New Managing Director

Karen Thomson has been appointed the new
managing director of AOL UK
in a series of senior management appointments announced by AOL Europe
this week.

Previously executive VP of marketing for AOL Europe, Thomson will now be responsible for the management and marketing
of the company’s three UK brands — AOL, CompuServe and Netscape Online.

Thomson’s rise to the top follows her successful direct
marketing campaign which took AOL from zero to 600,000 active
subscribers in just over 3 years. She will report to the president
and CEO of AOL Europe, Andreas Schmidt.

Filling another major role in AOL Europe is David Phillips,
formerly acting MD in the UK, who now becomes senior VP for
pan-European Business and Legal Affairs. He will be based in
London and is charged with the special duty of campaigning
across Europe for unmetered Internet access.

“These individuals are outstanding additions to the AOL Europe
senior management team,” said Schmidt.

“Together, they will work closely with me as we continue to
build a new medium in Europe and pursue aggressively our
multiple-brand strategy to be the leading pan-European
Internet and e-commerce company.”

AOL Europe is a joint partnership between America Online
and Bertelsmann.