Former AOL chief Jonathan Miller on most Web job short lists

He practices tai chi 18 hours a week and can still do front splits at the age of 51. He hangs out with Lou Reed. News Corp. President Peter Chernin calls him "one of the most astute people about the Internet."

He's Jonathan Miller, former chief executive of AOL, and he is now a man in demand. He's a venture capitalist with Velocity Interactive Group, a digital media firm, with buddy Ross Levinsohn. He was approached about a job by Microsoft when the senior executive who oversaw its online efforts left. And he's on the list of candidates to join the board of Yahoo, which is holding its annual shareholder meeting today.

Jason Calacanis, who founded Weblogs Inc. and sold it to AOL in 2005, said Miller would be a top draft pick for any corporate team. "It's like landing Phil Jackson to coach the Lakers: People want to play for him and people want to play with him," Calacanis said.

Check out Jessica Guynn's profile of Miller, which also includes a mini scoop: Despite common belief that Miller is a shoo-in to join the Yahoo board as heir apparent to Chief Executive Jerry Yang, it's far from a done deal.

-- Chris Gaither

Photo: Jonathan Miller. Credit: Lou Reed

Comments

[Russ]

I worked for AOL during Mr. Miller's tenure. Where I worked (in Retention) the key words & phrases were "nepotism", "promote my friends", "keep it real", "sex with your boss will get you promoted", "stupidity in management is appreciated and encouraged", conformity, "we are so big, we can't fail", and a host of others that caused me to feel that AOL was headed for the toidy. It was, and jumped ship before the fall. I'm not saying it was all Mr. Miller's fault, but they say it begins at the TOP. Seems like politicians and big business management are completely out of touch with their constituents. Too bad.....