• D: All Things Digital, Friday, March 13, 2009 12 PM

Kara Swisher nabs an exclusive interview with soon-to-be ex-Googler Tim Armstrong on the day of his appointment as the new chairman and CEO of AOL. The move follows months of speculation that Armstrong wanted to leave his post as head of Google's ad sales to run a big company. As Armstrong explains, AOL is a company he already knows well through its long-standing search partnership with Google. The 38-year-old will start on April 7.

"For me, it is a great opportunity to go to what I consider a top-five Internet brand," Armstrong tells Swisher, who characterizes the interview as having the "diplomacy and nice-guyness" that Armstrong has been known for in the industry. Armstrong calls AOL one of the few "global Internet brands," and says the obligatory stuff about achieving "the best outcome for AOL." Of course, "That could take the form of a lot of different paths," he says, which Swisher translates as meaning: "As soon as the economy brightens, I am going to become a public company CEO, just like my soon-to-be-ex-boss Eric Schmidt!"

Meanwhile, Armstrong's appointment brought an abrupt end to the tenure of AOL CEO Randy Falco and COO Ron Grant, who have been maligned in the press for their management of the Time Warner company -- most notably for overpaying for the social networking site Bebo a year ago today.

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