Looking Back: Geri Levin was on top of the world

-Shomari Hines **Looking Back is our sporadic feature where we revisit the early times of the media industry’s fallen or still standing individuals via profiles in top publications at the height of their careers I remember watching a profile of then Time Warner CEO Geri Levin years ago and I was impressed and inspired. I watched how he came to be the head of the world's biggest media company and how he was this quiet but sharp businessman who many feared in the boardrooms. I watched as he walked through the halls of Time Warner assistant in tow, taking notes as he entered his spacious corner office to meet with his top lieutenant Michael J. Fuchs whom he later fired. Geri Levin was on top of the world, but even then, people were questioning his ability to lead a media power house like Time Warner. Back in 1995 Businessweek published a profile on Geri titled "The Unlikely Mogul" which took us inside the media life of Geri Levin and his un-media mogul like ways. This was way before he made the biggest mistake in media business history that changed the shape of the business and his status as a respected media player. Now a look back at the good old times, when Geri Levin was a force to be reckoned with. Gerald M. Levin has never looked or acted like a media mogul. He rarely even tries. That wouldn't matter so much except that his relative lack of charisma is often linked to Time Warner's sagging stock price. Ever since early 1993, when he took over Time Warner's chairmanship from the late Steven J. Ross, Levin has been dogged by the notion that he is inappropriate for the job. His capital as chairman and CEO has sagged to the point where calls for his removal hardly raise an eyebrow. THE UNLIKELY MOGUL [Businessweek / Dec. 11, 1995 Issue]