Executive Suite: Netscape Co-founder Marc Andreessen to Become Chief Technology Officer of America Online, Inc. Upon Close of Netscape-AOL Merger - Company Operations

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Feb 22, 1999

America Online, Inc. Wednesday announced that Marc Andreessen of Netscape Communications Corporation will become America Online's Chief Technology Officer upon the close of the Company's acquisition of Netscape, expected to take place in the early spring. In the new position reporting to America Online Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Case, Mr. Andreessen will help define the long-term technology direction of the company. His responsibilities will include evaluating emerging technologies, and reaching out to the wider technology community. Mr. Case said: "A key element to America Online's strategy for future success is to continue and accelerate the pace of our technological innovation. With Marc Andreessen as America Online's first Chief Technology Officer, we are taking a major step to ensure all of our interactive brands will benefit from the latest technological developments today and in the years to come. Marc possesses the ideal mix of vision, expertise and experience to make him the perfect fit for this new position and an excellent overall addition to our senior management team." Mr. Case added: "Marc helped to open the online world to consumers through his work in creating the first user-friendly way to navigate cyberspace and co-founding of Netscape, whose name is synonymous with the Internet. By any measure, Marc is a pioneer in the interactive medium with a talent for identifying innovative companies and technologies, and we are very fortunate that he is joining us."

Mr. Andreessen said, "I am looking forward to joining the people at America Online after the merger with Netscape closes and helping build this new medium for the future. Over the years, I have watched America Online grow into the industry's pre-eminent Internet services company with a full range of interactive brands, soon to include Netscape, and I'm excited about the opportunity to contribute to Netscape and America Online's goal of providing online consumers with the best available technology to help make their interactive experiences increasingly convenient and vital in their everyday lives." A co-founder of Netscape, Mr. Andreessen currently serves as the company's Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Andreessen has served as a director of the company since April 1994. As an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mr. Andreessen created the NCSA Mosaic browser prototype for the Internet with a team of students and staff at the university's National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). The browser prototype provided an easy-to-use, point-and-click method for navigating the Internet, and gained an estimated 2 million users worldwide in just over one year. Mr. Andreessen earned his bachelor of science degree in computer science at the University of Illinois in 1993. America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, is the world's leader in branded interactive services and content. America Online, Inc. operates two worldwide Internet services: America Online, with more than 16 million members; and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members. America Online, Inc. also operates AOL Studios, the world's leading creator of original interactive content. Other branded Internet services operated by America Online, Inc. include AOL.COM, the world's most accessed Web site from home; Digital City, Inc., the No. 1 local content network and community guide on AOL and the Internet; AOL NetFind, AOL's comprehensive guide to the Internet; AOL Instant Messenger, an instant messaging tool available on both AOL and the Internet; and ICQ, an instant communications and chat technology on the Internet.