• Fortune, Sunday, December 5, 2010 10:28 PM

When Barry Diller informed his charges that he wanted to step down as chief executive of IAC/Interactive, the ecommerce company the media mogul built over the past 17 years, he made a confession. "I never thought I was a very good manager. I mean I am decent, but I want to go back to what I am good at, which is looking for opportunities to grow the business," Diller said. "Greg is a better manager than I am." Greg being Greg Blatt, 42, the newly named CEO of IAC.

Diller also bought out Liberty Media's stake in IAC. The exchange between IAC and Liberty gives Diller a 34% voting stake in IAC, with an option to buy up to 41%. Commenting on the financial pluses, he noted: "This deal also is a way to shrink our capitalization, which we have done by 8%-9% today and by 50% over the past three to four years. That's good for earnings." And he's not stepping away from the business; he's stepping closer.

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