She succeeds Artie Minson, who was appointed chief operating officer in June.

With her appointment, Dykstra, 53, is resigning from AOL's board. She is a former partner at hedge fund manager, Plainfield Asset Management LLC.

Pepsico Inc Chief Financial Officer Hugh F. Johnston was elected a director of AOL.

The company is still searching for two additional board members, AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong told attendees at an investor conference on Wednesday.

AOL is looking for directors who are sitting CEOs and have financial and mobile sector experience, Armstrong said.

In a regulatory filing, AOL said it will pay Dykstra a base salary of $700,000 per year and with an annual incentive bonus opportunity of 100 percent of her base salary. She will also be eligible for stock option grants.

Dykstra held leadership positions with Plainfield from 2006 to 2010.

(Reporting by Jennifer Saba in New York Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal and Carol Bishopric)

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