Former Bebo CEO Joanna Shields Leaves AOL

AOL's People Networks president Joanna Shields announced yesterday that she will be leaving the company to go back to her home in London to spend more time with her family. 

Joanna came to AOL as the chief exec of the social network site Bebo, which was acquired by the online subsidiary of Time Warner for $850 million back in March last year. 

Informing the staff about the departure of Ms Shields, AOL's chief exec Tim Armstrong wrote in a memo, “Joanna Shields has decided to step down from her role as President of People Networks/EVP of AOL and return to London to reunite her family and explore her entrepreneurial interests”.

The memo further quoted Joanna as a “start-up executive”, having taken several companies through rapid growth and acquisition. However, Ms Shields, who also worked with Google as a managing director of strategic partnerships, will continue to serve as an advisor to AOL on new ventures and acquisitions, Armstrong notified. 

But, Armstrong didn't mention anything about the replacement of Ms Shields, which may trigger concerns over the future of People Networks division of AOL. Shields was known for her persuasive deal making skills, and negotiated with Time Warner's AOL into paying around $1 billion to acquire the UK-based social networking platform Bebo.  

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