Mention the term ‘football’ to AOL China’s vice-president and general manager Norman Koo and you’ll see his eyes widen and his slight smile - a permanent feature on his face - transform into a toothy grin.
The 55-year-old says he has followed the sport his whole life, from his childhood in Shanghai, through boyhood in Hong Kong and college life in Wisconsin and Iowa, to the corporate world in Silicon Valley and Asia. “I am a football fan,” he says, leaning forward enthusiastically. “I enjoy the Brazilian and Italian teams because the style they play is very different from the English and Germans.”
The 55-year-old says he has followed the sport his whole life, from his childhood in Shanghai, through boyhood in Hong Kong and college life in Wisconsin and Iowa, to the corporate world in Silicon Valley and Asia. “I am a football fan,” he says, leaning forward enthusiastically. “I enjoy the Brazilian and Italian teams because the style they play is very different from the English and Germans.”
Unfortunately for Koo, AOL has spent the past few years transforming itself from the internet world’s Brazil to something a little more like England - great history, but somewhere along the line it has gone wrong. The challenge he faces in China is reversing that trend in a market with some very powerful home-grown players.
That process began in April, with the relaunch of AOL Taiwan, followed by portals in Hong Kong and China. Koo says the company plans to launch another half a dozen sites throughout Asia this year.
His involvement in the online world dates back to 1994, and the FIFA World Cup held in the US. The tournament was significant for more than just personal reasons. It was the first time a major event was broadcast across the world via the internet - and Koo was the man responsible.
“At the time, I told people that they really should use this thing called the internet,” says Koo, who had been working at Sun Microsystems, the company charged with overseeing the World Cup’s technical aspects.
“Other people had used the internet well before me in the scientific and research world, but I was the first to apply it to a world event. I was very satisfied.”
His interest in the internet took him to America Online in Silicon Valley in 2001, when the business was at the peak of its powers as an internet services provider. A year earlier it had merged with Time Warner in a US$182 billion deal that marked the zenith of the dotcom boom. There he worked on its transition from a pure ISP into a portal-focused business, “putting some order into place”.
In Asia, that transition was not smooth. AOL agreed a software deal with Lenovo in 2001, making it one of the first Western online companies to enter China. But the deal broke down in 2003 after delays to the launch of AOL portals and other services, with Lenovo saying it was no longer worthwhile given the rise of Chinese web companies. In 2005 AOL departed the region, selling its domains in China, Hong Kong and Japan.
Now the business has returned, and this time it is not relying on a partnership. Koo is charged with stocking the localised portals with content and developing strategies to offer content other portals in the region do not.
In AOL’s favour is a deal with Hewlett-Packard to include its portal, toolbar and search functions on its computers. Koo also argues that AOL’s links with parent company Time Warner, alongside partnerships with local content providers such as Phoenix Television in Hong Kong, will allow it to carve a niche in the market.
That remains to be seen, given the strength of local players such as Tencent, Sina and Sohu. While Koo acknowledges the strength of these companies among existing users, he believes the rapid growth of China’s internet audience means there are still opportunities for brands such as AOL. “I see the internet market as a growing pie, and I’m trying to carve up my piece of the growing mass. That does not have to be at the expense of anyone else,” he says.
With the American ad economy slowing, finding new sources of income will be increasingly important to AOL. In China, he believes AOL’s niche will involve mobile technology and news feeds, with AOL becoming “a complementary media services company to society” - a go-to location for internet users looking for all manner of news, video and communication. To that end, it has set up a research team based in Beijing with a focus on mobile, content and technology.
For all the competition AOL faces, Koo says the biggest challenges he faces doing his job in Asia are internal. He notes that he holds brainstorming meetings with his staff and, because many of his co-workers were trained within the Chinese system, they don’t feel at ease contributing ideas. “As a workforce activity I try to draw out participation from my staff, but they look to me as the father figure. Who is going to debate with me?”
That frustration may explain Koo’s remaining career goal - to teach. If he succeeds in turning AOL into a genuine Chinese player, he will look for the next challenge, and an academic role is top of the list. But with no shortage of challenges ahead, the classroom may have to wait a while.
Norman Koo’s CV
2005 Vice-president and general manager, AOL Greater China
2001 Executive director, office of the CTO, AOL Time Warner
1994 President and CEO, Open TV
1987 Various roles, Sun Microsystems
1983 Executive vice-president, Forward Technology
