Perhaps that's why AOL Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin has gone to Parsons since 1995 whenever somebody's feathers have been ruffled. The towering, bearded executive was at Levin's side as Time Warner's president and still remains one of Levin's most trusted confidants. Parsons' effect has been felt behind the scenes--cooling disputes between divisions, mollifying conflicts with competitors, and breaking stalled negotiations for high-profile deals.
In the aftermath of AOL's acquisition of Time Warner, Parsons has emerged in control of the company's coveted intellectual property vault. This includes management of all businesses involving film, music and book publishing.
While Parsons' current job is certainly far-reaching (AOL Time Warner is the world's largest copyright owner), he sits behind the glare of a more radiant star: Co-COO Bob Pittman. Chatter in the media and on Wall Street says Pittman is a shoe-in as Levin's successor. This speculation has raised questions about Parsons' future and more questions about who is really calling the shots on a day-to-day basis.
Nevertheless, Parsons is perhaps one of the few media executives who has more friends than detractors among peers and competitors. And on May 2, Parsons was appointed by President George W. Bush to co-chair a committee to overhaul the Social Security system; he held a previous position with the Ford administration from 1975 to 1977. Even with the appointment, Parsons insists that AOL Time Warner will remain his day job and that his public service roles will be secondary.
On the same day as his assignment from Bush, CNET News.com met with Parsons in his office on the 29th floor of AOL Time Warner's Rockefeller Center headquarters in New York. Overlooking midtown Manhattan, he discussed his thoughts on where the Internet is headed, the necessity of defending copyrights, and the culture changes within the company since AOL and Time Warner became one.
