AOL reshuffles Internet exec deck

America Online announced another round of executive appointments Wednesday in its latest reshuffle of its management ranks.

AOL, the troubled Internet division of media giant AOL Time Warner, appointed James Bankoff as its executive vice president of operations for its interactive services division and David Gang as its executive vice president of product marketing. Bankoff and Gang will report to Jimmy de Castro, president of AOL Interactive Services.

Bankoff and Gang become the latest executives affected by changes in the division. AOL's revenue has been hit hard by the online advertising decline and has been blamed for dragging down AOL Time Warner's stock price.

In April, AOL CEO Barry Schuler stepped down and was replaced by Robert Pittman, AOL Time Warner's co-chief operating officer.

Pittman has since swept through the ranks and replaced several key executives. De Castro essentially took over a position vacated by Jonathan Sacks, who left the company for personal reasons. In April, AOL replaced Robert Friedman with Bob Sherman, Time Warner Cable's former president of ad sales.

The reshuffling comes the day before AOL Time Warner holds its annual shareholders meeting in New York. Thursday's meeting will be the official start date for AOL Time Warner's incoming CEO, Richard Parsons, who will enter the role with a mandate for the company's disparate divisions to work more closely together. Thursday's shareholder meeting will also mark the first day that Pittman becomes sole COO of the company.