On the morning after AOL Time Warner Inc. completed its $99-billion merger in January, the freshly appointed co-chief operating officers were asked how they'd slept the night before.
Robert W. Pittman replied energetically that he'd barely slept a wink, working late to close the deal and still running high on adrenaline.
Richard D. Parsons, after a beat, responded, "I slept like a log."
A dry wit and quiet confidence are just two traits that factored into the selection of Parsons on Wednesday to run the world's largest media conglomerate.
Though many viewed the dynamic Pittman as the most likely heir apparent to Chief Executive Gerald M. Levin, Parsons' consensus-building skills, self-deprecating humor, steady style and political savvy helped him nab the top spot.
Levin's endorsement didn't hurt, either.
"I've been working on succession with the board for a year, and I'm the one who persuaded everyone that he's the one for the job," Levin said.
His plans to retire in May stunned the media industry, coming only two years after he engineered the landmark merger with the largest Internet service.
Parsons left Dime Savings Bank in New York in 1994 when Levin picked him to become company president. Parsons has since become Levin's confidant and go-to guy.
Some company and industry executives suggest Parsons may be a better choice than Levin to lead AOL Time Warner. Many say what the company needs now is a motivating and uniting force such as Parsons, who can pull the disparate parts of the company toward a single goal to ride out the recession and wring benefits from the merger.
"This is a company that needs to be tuned, not rebuilt, and Dick is the perfect guy for that," said Leo Hindery, head of the Yankees Net cable channel who, as the former president of AT&T Corp.'s cable division had countless negotiations with Parsons.
"Dick is big and physically imposing, making him a scary cuss. But he has an unbelievable code of honor that people trust. He can kick you from one end of the room to another, but he's fair, he doesn't leave you bloody and in the end you still love him. He's the best of the best."
People within AOL Time Warner are ecstatic with his appointment.
"There are only two things people say about Parsons: 'I don't know him, or I like him,"' said Fred Dressler, executive vice president of Time Warner Cable. "But what gets lost is how smart he is. He has handled all the major negotiations at the company--and anything messy."
