Dermot McCormack Joins AOL as President of AOL Video and AOL Studios
Ran Harnevo, founder of 5Min and AOL On, will transition from AOL after executive producing AOL's first long-form series, Connected.
NEW YORK(07 Oct 2014)
AOL today announced Dermot McCormack is joining AOL from Viacom as President of Video and Studios. McCormack succeeds Ran Harnevo, who has left to pursue other opportunities, but who will remain as Executive Producer of AOL’s first long-form Original Series, Connected.
McCormack, an experienced and passionate content creator and proven programmer, will lead AOL On, a curated experience of 14 channels actively programmed with relevant video content, and BE On, a global branded content and entertainment platform, both part of AOL Platforms. In addition, he will lead AOL Studios, overseeing the creation and distribution of high-quality original programming. McCormack will be based in both New York City and Beverly Hills and will report to AOL Chairman and CEO, Tim Armstrong, and Bob Lord, CEO of AOL Platforms.
AOL is a global leader in digital video, currently serving tens of thousands of publishers, the vast majority of top global advertisers, and all of the top global holding companies. AOL has launched nearly 50 original series since 2011, and its library of curated and original video content is now distributed on 15 connected devices, including Apple TV. AOL Originals "Park Bench With Steve Buscemi" and "The Future Starts Here" by @TiffanyShlain received two Emmy® nominations, validating its strategy of creating premium video content.
McCormack joins AOL after almost 6 years at Viacom, where he most recently ran Viacom Music & Logo’s Connect Content Group. In this position, McCormack led all non-linear brand properties initiatives for MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo, creating and implementing the vision and strategy for how these culture defining brands maintain leadership in today’s world. He realigned his team to focus on strategic storytelling, organic traffic growth, innovative products, social media integrations and tactical partnerships, which as a result guided Viacom Music Group to #1 in the comScore music category.
Commenting on the appointment and transition, Tim Armstrong said: “At AOL we recognize that sight, sound and motion is the triple play of engagement and that is what drove our investment in video and 5min Media in 2010. AOL is now a top three player in video and we owe much of this success to exceptional leadership from Ran Harnevo and the team he developed. Dermot is a game changing talent with experience exactly where we need it - building audiences through engaging programming - and is the person I expect to take AOL’s video efforts to the next level, building on our significant success to date and increasing the pace of our innovation and growth.”
“It’s been an amazing 8 years from the early days of the online video industry to where we are right now at AOL,” said Ran Harnevo. “Building 5min Media as a small start-up and then getting acquired 4 years later to keep going full speed and reach our vision, was the best experience in my professional life. AOL today has the largest global curated video network, a programmatic video platform that is the future of advertising, and a strong content creation strategy that has already received 2 Emmy nominations. Dermot is the right person to lead AOL On forward and it’s time for me to return to my entrepreneurial roots.”
“I have watched the evolution of AOL’s video strategy closely and have seen it develop into a thriving business poised to break out. I am delighted to be joining AOL now to make sure it does just that,” said McCormack. “We are early days in our journey, but the opportunity is huge and my goal is to make sure that we put in place a strategy and operating process that ensures AOL takes more than its fair share of that opportunity.”
Prior to joining Viacom in 2008, McCormack was the Senior Vice President of Interactive Product Management at Cablevision where he led the creation of a new digital revenue growth department, and drove the growth of Cablevision’s interactive advertising and commerce businesses. Before his tenure at Cablevision, he was Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Flooz.com, the world's first online gift currency. Prior to that, McCormack was one of the early executives at iVillage.com
About AOL
AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is a brand company, committed to continuously innovating, growing, and investing in brands and experiences that inform, entertain, and connect the world. The home of a world-class collection of premium brands, AOL creates original content that engages audiences on a local and global scale. We help marketers connect with these audiences through effective and engaging digital advertising solutions.