Kara Swisher

Recent Posts by Kara Swisher

Exclusive: AOL’s CTO Alex Gounares Leaves Company

According to sources close to the situation, AOL’s CTO Alex Gounares is leaving the New York-based Internet company.

At AOL, he was in charge of all of AOL’s vast technical operations. He is among a number of execs who have been hired by CEO Tim Armstrong and then have departed.

Gounares came to AOL from Microsoft in May of 2010. He was corporate VP of Advertising Research and Development and CTO for the software giant’s Online Services division.

Sources said Gounares wanted to move back to the Seattle area.

His departure is certainly bad timing, in any event.

AOL has recently been targeted by activist shareholder Starboard Value, which put up an alternate slate of directors last week in a brewing proxy battle.

An AOL spokeswoman declined to comment.

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