WHEN: Today, Tuesday, April 4th
WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk Box"
Following are excerpts from the unofficial transcript of a FIRST ON CNBC interview with AOL CEO Tim Armstrong on CNBC's "Squawk Box" (M-F, 6AM-9AM ET) today, Tuesday, April 4th. Following are links to the video on CNBC.com: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000607247 and http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000607248.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
ARMSTRONG ON OATH
OATH IS A BRAND THAT WILL START OUT AS A VALUES-BASED BRAND, ABOUT CONNECTING OUR VALUES. OVER TIME, IF THERE'S BRANDS WE CAN CREATE AROUND OATH, WE WOULD THINK ABOUT THAT. BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT BRANDS WE HAVE ARE THINGS LIKE YAHOO! FINANCE, YAHOO! SPORTS, TUMBLR, HUFFINGTON POST.
ARMSTRONG ON BRANDS
THE VALUES ARE OUR COMMITMENT TO BUILDING THE BRANDS. FIRST OF ALL IF YOU CARE ABOUT BRANDS. YOU LOOK AT THE WORLD TODAY WITH FAKE NEWS, AND ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON, OUR MISSION AS A COMPANY IS TO BUILD BRANDS THAT PEOPLE LOVE. WE ARE ONE OF THE COMPANIES THAT HAS BELIEVED LONG-TERM THAT BRANDS ARE GOING TO WIN ON THE INTERNET. SO THAT'S ONE VALUE. THE SECOND VALUE IS REALLY AROUND TALENT AND FINDING THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BUILD THOSE BRANDS. I THINK ONE OF THE SURPRISING THINGS OUT OF THE YAHOO!/AOL COMBINATION WILL BE THE TALENT, WHERE THE TALENT IS, AND HOW THE TALENT IS FOCUSED ON BUILDING MAJOR MAJOR BRANDS.
ARMSTRONG ON MARISSA MAYER
WELL RIGHT NOW, WE'RE WORKING WITH MARISSA AND HER TEAM TO BASICALLY GET THE COMPANY COMPLETELY SET UP TO OPERATE PROBABLY BY THE END OF Q2. MARISSA WILL SEE IT THROUGH THE NEXT PHASE OVERALL.THEN THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW.
ARMSTRONG ON HACKING
I'D SAY A COUPLE THINGS. ONE, AT THE MOST MACRO LEVEL, SECURITY IS SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY IS FOCUSED ON AND IT'S NOT GOING AWAY. SO I THINK THAT CONSUMERS KNOW THAT THAT'S A POSSIBILITY WHEN YOU ARE USING THE INTERNET. TRUST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. WE'RE PUTTING A HUGE INVESTMENT INTO SECURITY TO RESOLVE THAT SITUATION. THE SECOND THING I WOULD JUST SAY IN TERMS OF THE YAHOO! SPECIFIC THINGS, THAT PART OF OUR TRANSACTION WITH THEM PREDATED WHAT WE KNEW ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THE COMPANY YAHOO! SPECIFICALLY IS DEALING WITH THAT PART OF IT. MARISSA HAS BEEN DEALING WITH IT, I THINK THEY'RE DOING A GOOD JOB OF FOCUSING ON IT, AND FIXING THE ISSUES.
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