Marc Andreessen
Chief Technology Officer, America Online, Inc.

As Chief Technology Officer of America Online, Inc., Marc Andreessen provides top-level guidance in setting the technological direction for the world's leading interactive services and Internet company.

His responsibilities include evaluating emerging technologies, tracking changes and trends in the medium, and offering counsel on innovations, strategies, investments, partnerships, and acquisitions that will help America Online continue to set the pace in this emerging industry. Through speeches, forums, and other public appearances, Andreessen also helps communicate with key audiences about America Online's history, mission, and vision.

Andreessen is best known for his work in creating the two graphical browsers that made the Internet user-friendly and easy to navigate, thus launching its explosive growth as a popular mass medium. As an undergraduate at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Andreessen created the first prototype of the Mosaic browser with a team of students and staff at the university's National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). With a friendly, point-and-click method for navigating the Internet and free distribution to network users, NCSA Mosaic gained an estimated 2 million users worldwide in just over one year.

After graduating from college, Andreessen joined with former Silicon Graphics CEO Jim Clark in April of 1994 to launch Netscape Communications. At Netscape, Andreessen led the team that developed the Netscape Navigator browser, which quickly became the world's most popular PC application. In addition to the Navigator browser, Andreessen also directed the company's initial efforts on its server software, including Netscape Commerce Server, the first secure server for the Web.

As Chief Technology Officer for Netscape, Andreessen was deeply involved in every important decision made by the Company -- including the licensing of Sun's Java programming language, the initial public offering of Netscape stock, the purchase of Collabra and Kiva Software, the revolutionary public distribution of the browser's secret source code, and the design and release of all of Netscape's server, browser, and other software products.

In March 1999, after the close of the merger of Netscape and America Online, Andreessen joined America Online as Chief Technology Officer, reporting to CEO Steve Case.

Andreessen earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science at the University of Illinois in 1993. He commutes between homes in California and Virginia.

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Ted Leonsis
President, AOL Interactive Properties Group

Ted Leonsis is a well-known entrepreneur and is considered a founding father of the new media industry. He is presently President, AOL Interactive Properties Group; responsible for the Company's activities in building local interactive networks; Web and communications portals; new networks for the small business market; interactive ticketing, and leading development for the company in areas such as classifieds and directories and IP Telephony.

AOL Interactive Properties leads and manages such brands as Digital City, the industry's #1 local franchise with operations in sixty cities; ICQ, the fastest growing global community on the Internet with more than 30 million registered members; MovieFone, the number 1 company in providing information on movies and online movie ticketing; and Digital Marketing Services (DMS).

At AOL Studios (now AOL Interactive Properties Group), Ted also led the Company's efforts in original content development and was responsible for AOL's role or investment in such leading brands as Motley Fool, iVillage, Excite, Preview Travel, iGolf, Worldplay Entertainment, Thrive, Love@AOL , NetNoir, PlanetOut, Moms Online, Hecklers, Astronet, Entertainment Asylum, Real Fans, Electra, and Santa's Home Page. Santa's Home Page was made into an ABC prime-time television special, as well as a holiday book via Penguin Publishing.

Previous to his role at AOL Studios, Ted was President of the AOL Services Company; responsible for leading the AOL brand, and was in charge of all sales, marketing, product development, production, programming, and business development for the company. Ted is credited with positioning AOL as a media company; inventing the channels programming taxonomy and initiating the Company's efforts in e-commerce, ad sales, community-based programming, television branding advertising, and dramatically increasing its direct marketing and original content development efforts.

During his three-year tenure leading the AOL Services Company, AOL grew from less than 800,000 members to 8 million members; from less than $100 million in revenues to $1.5 billion in revenues; and from a market capitalization of less than $500 million to more than $8 billion.

Prior to joining AOL, Ted was founder and CEO of Redgate Communications Corporation. A venture-backed firm, Redgate was considered the first new media marketing company, founded in 1987, and had positions in database marketing, CD-ROM based shopping, private satellite networks, online services, custom publishing, and new media consulting. AOL acquired Redgate in early 1994 in a pooling of interest transaction valued, at the time, at $45 million.

Also during his career, Ted worked with Apple on the introduction of the Macintosh; IBM on the PC launch; and Wang on office automation. He has written four books on the personal computer industry including, Blue Magic … The People, Power and Politics behind the IBM PC. Ted also founded four personal computer magazines that were acquired by International Thomson and IDG Publications, respectively.

His many honors include being named one of the "200 Global Leaders of Tomorrow" by the World Economic Forum, one of the "Top 100 Marketing Executives" by Ad Age, and "Top 12 Entrepreneurs" by Inc. Magazine Entrepreneurs Program.

Ted also co-invented a board game called "Only in New York;" and served for five years as Mayor of the Town of Orchid, Florida. Ted is on the Board of Directors of Preview Travel, Proxicom and USA Floral and serves on the Board of charities such as Hub Heaven, Best Buddies, and IRTS. He is also on the President's Advisory Council at Georgetown University and is the youngest member of the 1789 Foundation.

He lives with his wife and two children in Great Falls, Virginia and Vero Beach, Florida.

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Danny Krifcher
Vice President, AOL Interactive Properties

Danny Krifcher is Vice President of AOL Interactive Properties, a business unit of America Online, Inc. that is building new businesses and distinct properties in markets including local, portals, small business and classifieds/directories.

Krifcher is responsible for creating a new division to enhance and extend AOL's reach into the small business market. America Online, Inc. is already the #1 provider of interactive services to small businesses according to the March 1998 survey by Cyberdialogue/findsvp and C + C Data, Inc. In formalizing the small business division, America Online will better support the more than 3 million AOL and CompuServe members who own, manage, or work in small businesses and will create the leading interactive marketplace serving small businesses.

Krifcher was formerly president, CEO and founder of Greenhouse Networks, a business unit of AOL Studios. Since its inception in 1994, Greenhouse Networks launched venture capital investments in more than 30 Internet businesses including: The Motley Fool; iVillage; InterZine Productions; Preview Travel; Hecklers Online; Moms Online; NetNoir; and PlanetOut. Krifcher also supervised the formation of joint ventures with a number of major media companies including: The Style Channel with Disney/ABC and Fairchild Publications; The Hub with New Line Television/Turner; and Thrive, with Time Warner. In addition, he led Greenhouse creative teams in the development of more than two dozen in-house properties, including Entertainment Asylum, Electra, Real Fans Sports Network, and Love@AOL -- the number one content property on America Online.

Prior to starting Greenhouse, Krifcher's responsibilities at America Online included roles in corporate development and as the Vice President in charge of "People Connection" (AOL Chat) and AOL's online community efforts.

Krifcher's experience also includes positions as Vice President and founder of Closings, Ltd., a venture-capital backed start-up company, and as corporate strategy consultant for Boston-based Bain & Company.

He earned undergraduate degrees in Finance and Systems from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

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Moderator:
Kara Swisher
Reporter, Wall Street Journal - Silicon Valley beat
Author, “aol.com: How Steve Case Beat Bill Gates, Nailed the Netheads, and Made Millions in the War for the Web”

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