AOL can only hope that Arianna Huffington proves to be as adept at engineering corporate transformations as she has been at personal ones.
Since she became a prominent public figure as the wife of a multimillionaire running for the U.S. Senate in 1994, Huffington has been both a darling of conservatives and a heroine for liberals.
She disavowed any interest in becoming a political candidate herself during her husband’s unsuccessful campaign only to make an aborted run for California governor in 2003. She has been criticized for falling under the influence of self-help gurus and hailed for having the courage to pursue her own convictions.
Along the way, she has been proven she can be both charming and antagonizing — sometimes all within a few minutes of conversation punctuated in her distinctive Greek accent.
“She is a force of nature. It can really be something to watch her in action,” said Jeff Jarvis, a City University of New York journalism professor who has gotten to know Huffington while writing a blog about online media. “She is one of those people who will tell you, ‘We simply must do this’ and will persuade you to do it. She believes she can change the world.”
Huffington, 60, could have her biggest pulpit yet at AOL Inc. It’s paying $315 million to buy her news and opinion site, the Huffington Post, and anointing her as its next best hope to orchestrate a long-awaited turnaround at an Internet company that lost its way a decade ago.
After the deal closes this spring, Huffington will oversee most of AOL’s content as the company tries to attract more people and sell more ads. The inventory includes technology sites Engadget and TechCrunch, Patch.com’s network of suburban news sites and online mapping service MapQuest. Combined with the Huffington Post, the sites will have a…