Former FCC chief heads to AOL's board

Michael Powell, who served as FCC Chairman during the first four years of George W. Bush's administration, has been named to the board of AOL, the Internet company about to be spun off by Time Warner. When the separation is complete, Powell will join seven other new directors, including venture capitalist Bill Hambrecht and Richard Dalzall, former chief information officer at Amazon.com.

After leaving the FCC, Powell became a senior adviser to Providence Equity Partners, a private-equity firm whose portfolio includes online video service Hulu.com, Univision Communications and Warner Music Group. Powell, the son of former Secretary of State Colin Powell, put in place the FCC's existing net neutrality policies that current Chairman Julius Genachowski would like to codify. Powell was also forced to address media indecency issues during his tenure, largely due to Janet Jackson's SuperBowl wardrobe malfunction and Howard Stern's radio antics.