Lucy Kellaway: AOL’s Tim Armstrong proves obnoxious executives thrive

Lucy Kellaway: AOL’s Tim Armstrong proves obnoxious executives thrive: "Last week, when he agreed to sell AOL for $4.4 billion, a Forbes contributor called him a “genius”, arguing that the main reason Verizon wanted to buy the company was to get exposure to the brilliance of its chief executive. Mr Armstrong’s bank manager presumably agrees: the man’s personal gain from the deal is put by the Wall Street Journal at $180 million. Yet as Forbes was cheering others were making ruder noises. A blogger on Gawker was writing a post called “A Salute to AOL’s Tim Armstrong, a Real Shitty Boss”.
Many times I have tried to interview this corporate hero/villain in the hope of understanding how one of the least-appealing figures in corporate life could have done so well, but his zealous PRs have come between us. Instead I have had to content myself with listening to him talk, looking at photos and videos, reading his memos and talking to people who have worked for him."



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