AOL's Point Man in the Web War

Barry M. Schuler has the typical geek pedigree. The CEO of America Online Inc. (AOL ) took apart gadgets as a kid, built his own microcomputer in the mid-'70s, and now has rigged up a home network so he can listen to his collection of 7,000 jazz and rock music files through speakers in any room in his house. But Schuler has something many techies lack: He understands most people aren't like him. "Normal people don't lust after technology," he says. "They want whatever it's supposed to do."

That helps explain why AOL is far and away the most popular online service in the world, with 29 million subscribers. AOL Time Warner Inc. Chairman Stephen M. Case is known as AOL's Internet visionary, while co-Chief Operating Officer Robert W. Pittman is seen as its marketing whiz. But Schuler, 47, who has been the online service's CEO since January, deserves just as much credit for AOL's explosive success. For the past three years, Schuler has run the AOL service, putting his stamp on much of the design that makes it so simple to use and the features that make it so popular with families.