Parsons, Richard D.

▪ 2004

      In May 2003, after a year as chief executive of AOL Time Warner Inc., Dick Parsons also became the company's chairman. At the time, AOL Time Warner—formed in 2000 from the merger of the Internet service provider America Online Inc. and media conglomerate Time Warner Inc.—was not in good shape, having had to write off $54 billion in 2002. As well as being the subject of inquiries by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, the company faced lawsuits filed by shareholders and had debts of $26 billion—which Parsons aimed to cut to $20 billion by the end of 2004.

      Richard Dean Parsons was born on April 4, 1948, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant part of Brooklyn, N.Y. He graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1968 and studied law at Albany Law School, Union University, in Albany, N.Y., where he graduated first in his class in 1971. To help fund his tuition, Parsons worked as a part-time janitor and as an aide in the state assembly. He went on to receive top marks among 3,600 entrants to the New York state bar examination. He became a member of Gov. Nelson Rockefeller's legal team, remaining with him when Rockefeller became vice president in 1974 and becoming a senior White House aide under Pres. Gerald Ford.

      In 1977 Parsons joined the New York City law firm of Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler, rising to become a managing partner. One of his clients was the Dime Savings Bank of New York (later Dime Bancorp Inc.), which he joined as chief operating officer (COO) in 1988. He became chairman and CEO in early 1991 and turned the bank around after a period of financial difficulties. Parsons became a member of the board of Time Warner in 1991 and joined the company as president in 1995. After the merger, Parsons became co-COO of AOL Time Warner, responsible for the company's film, music, and publishing businesses. He was named CEO in May 2002.

      One of the few top African American business executives, Parsons said he never considered his race as either a handicap or a focus for him. In 2001 he was appointed cochairman of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. He also served as chairman of the Apollo Theater Foundation Inc. and sat on the boards of several arts, educational, and commercial organizations. Parsons, who was described as easygoing, unassuming, and generally well-liked, faced a serious challenge to pay down Time Warner's debts (“AOL” was dropped from the corporate name in September) and regain investor confidence in the struggling company, but his many supporters deemed him the right man for the job.

Alan Stewart

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▪ American executive

in full  Richard Dean Parsons 

born April 4, 1948, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

      American media executive who became chief executive officer (CEO) of AOL Time Warner (now Time Warner (Time Warner Inc.)) in 2002. He stepped into the position when it was evident that Internet company America Online (AOL), which had recently acquired media corporation Time Warner, was experiencing a reversal of fortune. As a veteran Time Warner executive, Parsons replaced outgoing CEO Gerald Levin, who had led the AOL-Time Warner merger to its completion in January 2001.

      After growing up near Brooklyn, New York, Parsons studied at the University of Hawaii (B.A., 1968) and graduated first in his class from Albany Law School, Union University, in Albany, New York (1971). He received top marks on the New York bar exam but deferred a move into law practice, choosing instead to join the legal staff of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller (Rockefeller, Nelson Aldrich); he remained with him when Rockefeller became vice president of the United States in 1974. Parsons became a senior White House aide under President Gerald R. Ford (Ford, Gerald R.).

      In 1977 Parsons joined the New York City law firm of Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler, rising to become a managing partner. One of his clients was the Dime Savings Bank of New York, which he joined as chief operating officer in 1988. He became chairman and CEO in early 1991 and turned the bank around after a period of financial difficulties, eventually guiding it toward a merger with Anchor Savings Bank to form Dime Bancorp in 1995. In that same year Parsons was recruited as president of Time Warner (Time Warner Inc.), whose board he had joined in 1991. His elevation as CEO occurred in 2001, and in 2003 Parsons took the additional title of chairman, displacing Steve Case, the founder of AOL.

      Throughout his career Parsons kept a hand in politics, supporting the New York City mayoral candidacy of Rudolph Giuliani (Giuliani, Rudolph W.) and serving on Giuliani's transitional council in 1993. In 2001 George W. Bush (Bush, George W.) appointed Parsons and Daniel Patrick Moynihan (Moynihan, Daniel Patrick) as cochairmen of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Parsons also served as chairman of the Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc., and sat on the boards of several arts, educational, and commercial organizations, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Citigroup, and Estée Lauder, Inc.

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