Steve Case Is “Sorry” For AOL-TW Merger, Sort Of

I’m torn between thinking former AOL Chairman Steve Case can’t apologize enough (maybe he could put it on a button and just wear it all the time) and wondering what anyone gains from it. It might be a different story if the apology came with a refund. Case discussed the AOL-TW merger on “The Charlie Rose Show” Monday night. (Still looking for a linkable transcript.) He didn’t just blurt out a confession and it came with a lot of qualifiers, as though Case still can’t quite figure out why such a brilliant idea went AWRY; Rose pushed hard for him to acknowledge the failure in direct terms, asking bluntly, “Are you sorry you did it?” Case: “Yes, I’m sorry I did it. … I thought it was the best course for AOL to make sure it was ensured a bright broadband future, and as part of that agreed to step aside as CEO. To make sure the deal would happen. And AOL`s broadband future has not been, obviously, what any of us would have hoped.”
— “Actually, the idea of the merger, of bringing AOL together with Time Warner, having AOL have access to Time Warner`s broadband infrastructure through cable systems and multimedia content, having Time Warner access to AOL`s expertise in the digital area, made tremendous sense, which is — and why when I think when we announced the merger everybody agreed. Obviously … after we announced the merger, our stock went up more slowly than other Internet companies. So, there were some who actually criticized me at the time … hey thought we made a bad deal. But ultimately what it comes down to is execution. One of the lessons learned, I think is — is that (the ) idea is important, but leadership and execution is really … what matters.”
— Most of the interview with Rose focused on his new ventures in health care. His entry in the burgeoning online health care field, revolutionhealth.com, is slated for a fall launch. Case: “It’s crazy … in this country that it`s easier to find out what restaurants to go to or what movies to go to than what doctors or hospitals to go. That`s just wrong, and we`re trying to create tools that really give that choice and that power back to consumers.” He’s also working on a venture called RediClinic to put medical clinics in stores like Walgreens.
— Case: “Revolution Health could end up being bigger than AOL in my opinion, if we`re successful, just given a nature of that industry.” (Insert appropriate merger-related wisecrack.)

Comments have been disabled for this post