Has Richard Parsons, chairman and chief executive of Time Warner, managed to answer the companys many critics?
Two years ago, the company was the subject of a torrent of abuse from shareholders, who argued that the AOL-Time Warner merger had been a grandiose waste of their money. But now AOL, its long-troubled internet division, has managed a spectacular turnaround, and is expected to generate about $1bn in free cash flow this year alone. Meanwhile, the Lord of the Rings trilogy has conjured Time Warner $2.9bn at the box office, and a further $2.1bn through sales of merchandise, DVDs and video. Besting Bill Mr Parsons is turning out to be something of a conjurer himself. When Microsoft boss Bill Gates was cutting up rough over internet browsers (Netscape is part of the Time Warner empire), Mr Parsons persuaded him to settle the dispute with a $750m payment to Time Warner. “I don’t take credit for that; Bill is a smart guy,” Mr Parsons says. Tall, bearded and charming, Richard Parsons has little changed since he last spoke to BBC News, shortly after he became chief executive – although his eyes
