DE CASTRO LOGS OFF AS AOL EXEC

Jimmy De Castro, the radio veteran who signed on as the troubled online giant’s President of Interactive Services a mere seven months ago, is ankling the company in pursuit of "new opportunities," AOL reports.

De Castro’s departure follows the completion of AOL 8.0’s launch, developed under the aegis of recently anointed CEO/Chairman Jon Miller. The Interactive division will report to Vice-Chairman Ted Leonsis while De Castro’s successor is sought.

"I have great admiration for Jon Miller and the entire AOL organization, and it’s been an honor and a pleasure to lead a team of the most talented, creative and dedicated people you will find in any company," De Castro declared. "And with AOL 8.0, it’s easier than ever to generate a ‘seeking new opportunities’ quote for a company release."

Miller lauded the exiting exec, who he said "infused the whole place with new energy and assembled a world-class team that has restored the sizzle to our brand by creating innovative, must-have new programming. We understand Jimmy’s desire to run an organization as a chief executive officer, and we wish him the best."

AOL’s parent company, AOL Time Warner, continues to cope with a sliding stock price, federal investigation of its accounting procedures and doubts about the wisdom of the merger of the online behemoth with the media colossus in the first place.