Now that Netscape and AOL are in talks to become one, the nagging question remains: Will Netscape President and CEO Jim Barksdale leave the company?
Industry observers agree that there isn't really room for Barksdale and America Online CEO Steve Case at the helm of the merged company.
Barksdale, who joined Netscape in January 1995, has led the company through its initial public offering and its public battle with Microsoft.
"Steve Case is not going to play second fiddle to anyone," says Tim Sloane, an analyst at Aberdeen Group, Inc. "He has the company in a powerful position, and he's not going to want to lose the rudder of his ship."
In fact, one Internet company has already thought about pursuing Barksdale to be its CEO, according to a source who requested anonymity. "He would be attractive to anyone that would want to get mindshare in the Internet space," the source says. "There aren't many executives out there who can offer that."
Barksdale's appeal is threefold, according to the source: He has a lot of name recognition; he has CEO-level contacts in the Fortune 500; and he would provide "a cachet of seriousness to a company." His name recognition is a positive thing, the source says. "Also, there's a big difference between making a deal at the CEO level and making it from the bottom up." A bottom-up deal could take weeks, the source says, whereas a top-level agreement could result in a merged company within days.
Before coming to Netscape, Barksdale was CEO of AT&T Wireless and CIO at Federal Express.
RELATED LINKS
AOL targets the enterprise
Network World Fusion, 11/23/98.
Barksdale details complaints about Microsoft
IDG News Service, 10/20/98.
Power Players: Jim Barksdale
Network World, 12/97.
