A one-time Google executive based in Europe, Shields stepped up in February to head the People Networks ((now dissolved into other groups) after serving as president of Bebo, the social net AOL bought in March 2008 for $850 million—an acquisition that Time Warner execs eventually may have come to regret but continue to defend. After Tim Armstrong joined AOL as CEO, he decided to eliminate the People Networks and shuffle its assets, which include AIM and the ICQ desktop and mobile clients, amid a broader restructuring. Shields told paidContent that she was contractually required to stay on with AOL for a year and had always planned to move on after that.

SEE ALSO: AOL’s People Networks President Shields Quitting, Back To London

This new venture will be based in London. It’s being backed by both Murdoch and Shields and will operate under the Shine Group umbrella; Shields will also join the group’s advisory board. Murdoch, the daughter of News Corp (NYSE: NWS). (NWS) CEO and chairman Rupert Murdoch, has emphasized online and digital in running Shine, which owns reality TV content company Reveille. In a statement, Murdoch said, “To grow as a content company, it is vital to venture beyond the traditional approaches to television and online media that so quickly date, and there is nobody better placed to explore this with than Joanna.”