"I see in [AOL-Time Warner chairman] Steve Case a man with a vision, a true visionary, who understood the significance of the Internet and connectivity 15 years ago, before anyone else, back in the 1980s", Dr. Yossi Vardi told ''Globes'' today. For the past two years, Vardi served as a strategic advisor to Case.
Vardi refused comment on the reasons surrounding Case's departure.
He said that Case made the Internet equally accessible to all, while striving to simplify usage and penetrate all levels widely. Case, Vardi said, took the Internet out of universities and research laboratories, and brought it into the public domain. "This is what guided him," Vardi said, adding his hope that Case would continue contributing through the corporate positions he maintains.
Vardi and Case developed close professional and personal relations during AOL's acquisition of ICQ developer Mirabilis, in which Vardi was a partner. The deal, transacted in mid-1998, was the first mega-acquisition of an Israeli high-tech company, when the instant messaging developer was bought for $407 million. After the deal closed, Vardi officially became a strategic advisor to AOL, assisting in identifying investments for AOL in Israel.
"Case has always expressed how important Israeli technology is to the Internet", Vardi said today, noting that under Case's leadership, AOL invested in 17 Israeli companies.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on 13 January 2003