RICHARD PARSONS, who only a year ago shared co-billing as AOL Time Warner's Chief Operating Officer with the company's then-heir apparent, Bob Pittman, this week became the media giant's first Chairman-CEO. Parsons' appointment, which the board reached unanimously, is effective May 16, the day of the company's annual shareholder meeting.

Digitas has added two of its senior executives in the U.S. to its operation in Europe as a part of its overseas growth strategy. CHIP REINGOLD and RUTH SREENAN have joined the London office as SVP, Executive Creative Director, and SVP, Technology, respectively. Reingold will oversee creative for clients such as Ericsson, Saab Europe and Pernod Ricard, as well as new business. He has been with Digitas for 14 years, most recently as Group Creative Director in Boston on the American Electric Power, Delta Air Lines and Celebrity Cruises accounts. Sreenan will develop the technology practice in Europe into one …

The New York Times announced this week that RICHARD WOOLDRIDGE, President and COO of The International Herald Tribune (IHT), will assume the business leadership of the IHT effective immediately. Wooldridge was named President and Chief Operating Officer of the IHT in 1998 after having served as Consultant since 1996.

Prime Point Media, the national payphone advertising network, announced two additions to its sales team. JANEEN WASOSKI has been hired as Account Executive. Wasoski brings more than six years of sales experience to Prime Point Media, including Account Manager roles at ABCNEWS.COM and WEATHER.COM.

JAKE KOVALCIK was also hired by Prime Point as Senior Account Executive. Kovalcik’s agency experience includes media planning at Ogilvy & Mather and Deutsch. After Deutsch, he served as an Account Executive at Anheuser-Busch and was most recently a Senior Account Executive at DVC Worldwide on the Rolling Rock/Labatt USA account.

JOHN RUSSO and BOB NELSON, former Senior Creative Executives at Publicis Groupe's D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, are reuniting with the agency's former Chief Creative Officer, Lee Garfinkel, at the New York office of Omnicom Group's DDB Worldwide. Garfinkel last month was named DDB's Chairman-Chief Creative Officer. Russo, Executive Creative Director at D'Arcy, becomes Co-Executive Creative Director (with John Staffen) at DDB, New York. Nelson, D'Arcy's Managing Director for global creative services, becomes Director for Broadcast Production, a vacant post at DDB, New York.

PAUL MURRAY is hired as Vice President Client Relations at CFM Direct, a national response-marketing agency. Murray possesses more than twenty years of relevant marketing experience, working both at agencies and on the client side. Most recently he was Vice President, Product Marketing at Equifax. Murray also held executive-level positions at First Card and Citicorp Diners Club.

Meredith Corporation this week announced that LINDA HALLAM has been named Editor-In-Chief of Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications Decorating and Design Group. For the last year Hallam has served as Senior Interior Design Editor for Traditional Home magazine. Before that, she spent five years as a design editor with Better Homes and Gardens Books.

Joining Roberts in New York will be SCOTT GILBERT a Saatchi veteran who ran Saatchi's biggest office, the 300-person Torrance, CA, shop that handles Toyota Motor Sales USA's Toyota division. Gilbert will oversee the New York office's operations. He becomes one of four managing partners of that office, down from six.

Northlich, Cincinnati, this week promoted two executives to President. RICK MILLER, formerly Director of Integrated Services, becomes Agency President. JEFF DUFRESNE, formerly Director of Northlich's BrandStorm brand and new-product consulting unit, becomes President of that unit.