AOL has named a veteran media executive to head up its portfolio of brands, including TechCrunch and Mapquest. Reuters reports that the company appointed board director Susan Lyne to the post.

Lyne is vice chairman of Gilt.com, an online flash sale site for clothing, but her roots are in TV. She was formerly CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and president of ABC Entertainment.

She will vacate her position on AOL’s board to take on the title of CEO of AOL’s Brand Group, overseeing advertising and publisher relationships with an eye toward growing traffic, the story reports.

“Arianna Huffington, whose Huffington Post website falls under the Brand Group, will continue to report to AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong,” the report notes.

The piece adds: “In a statement, AOL said its Chief Operating Officer Arthur Minson, who is responsible for all AOL’s business units — the Brand Group, AOL Networks and Membership Group — ‘will stay with the company for a transition period.’"

Susan Lyne