Dulles, Va. - Richard Parsons will step down as the CEO of media giant Time Warner (NYSE: TW), the parent of AOL, effective Jan. 1, the company announced on Monday.

Longtime heir apparent Jeffrey Bewkes, the company's president and COO, will replace Parsons, who will retain the role of chairman.

The company called the move "the culmination of a thoughtful and disciplined process that began in early 2006, when Dick Parsons initially approached the board to discuss the timetable for the CEO succession."

The news comes weeks after Time Warner announced plans to move AOL's headquarters to New York, and could be critical to the future of AOL as a whole.

"Bewkes is perceived to be less committed than Parsons to AOL, the former Internet service provider that Parsons sees as the linchpin to a dramatic improvement in Time Warner's stock price," MarketWatch reported.

AOL recently combined its various digital advertising companies, including Advertising.com, Tacoda, Third Screen Media, Lightningcast and AdTech, into a new unit called "Platform A."

Various media outlets have reported that Time Warner is now planning to spin-off Platform A through an IPO in 2008.

Parsons became CEO in 2002 and chairman a year later.

Related Links:
http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1680750,00.html

http://tinyurl.com/ytm984 (MarketWatch)