Case, Steve (1958-…), founded the company that became America Online, Inc. (AOL), a major Internet service provider. AOL merged with Time Warner Inc., a major media company, in 2001, to form AOL Time Warner Inc. Case, who had served as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of AOL, became chairman of AOL Time Warner. He held that position from 2001 to 2003. The company dropped “AOL” from its name in 2003, and in 2009 the merger between the two companies ended and AOL again became a separate company.
Stephen McConnell Case was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Aug. 21, 1958. He received a degree in political science from Williams College in 1980. After college, Case worked in a marketing division of the Procter & Gamble Company, then as a product development manager at PepsiCo, Inc. In 1983, Case joined Control Video, a company that delivered games electronically to personal computers. In 1985, the company was reorganized and renamed Quantum Computer Services. It developed and provided online services compatible with several widely used computer operating systems. The company was renamed America Online, Inc., in 1991. Case became chief executive officer of the company the following year. Under Case, AOL gained millions of customers. Case became chairman of AOL in 1995.
In 1997, Case and his wife, Jean, formed the Case Foundation. The foundation works on improving the education and the computer skills of children and adults, especially those in inner cities and rural areas. It is also involved in other efforts to improve health and to solve social problems.
