AOL promoted Jim Norton to head of AOL sales on Dec. 9. Norton previously served as SVP of AOL Advertising’s advanced sales team.
Norton said his top priority is to “continue to accelerate [AOL’s] display advertising revenue growth.” The segment generated $136.7 million in revenue for the third quarter, rising 15% year-over-year.
“There’s probably no industry as competitive as digital media right now, with companies both large and small. We’ve got the challenge of both trying to keep up with innovation, which is really what necessitates moves like this,” Norton said.
In the new position Norton oversees sales for AOL’s owned and operated properties, such as The Huffington Post, as well as the company’s cross-platform marketing initiatives including display, video and mobile.
Norton continues to report to AOL chief revenue officer Ned Brody. AOL Advertising’s SVP of east coast sales, SVP of sales for central U.S. and SVP of western U.S. sales, all report directly to Norton, he said..
Asked of his hiring plans, Norton said, “AOL is always in the market for great salespeople and account managers.”
Norton declined to comment on the social ad product AOL CEO Tim Armstrong mentioned during the company’s third-quarter earnings call other than to say that the product is “in the works.”
