BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : FEBRUARY 7, 2000 ISSUE
BUSINESS WEEK E.BIZ -- SPECIAL REPORT -- LEADERS Nina Brink: World Online International N.V. Nina Brink World Online International N.V. Position Founder and chairwoman Contribution Built a customer base of 1.2 million in 15 countries‹on a continent where most ISP/portals donąt cross national borders Ambition To go public in March and use the money to beat AOL in Europe It's 7 p.m. Saturday, and Nina Brink is at home suffering from a bad case of the flu. But instead of relaxing, the 46-year-old chief executive of Rotterdam-based World Online International is still working the phones, plotting an initial public offering this March. If she can successfully take her company public, she'll gain the financial firepower to keep up with giant rival America Online Inc. in Europe. Brink's fast-growing World Online, the only other Internet service provider to operate across the Continent, has tripled in size in the past two years and now has 1.2 million customers in 15 countries, compared with AOL's 2 million European subscribers. Brink is confident--but what if AOL swallows media giant Time Warner Inc.? ''That doesn't scare me,'' she says. ''It only confirms my belief that the Internet world will take over from the brick-and-mortar world.'' Brink's advantage: She can move faster than the American giant. When other European Internet providers began offering their services free, she abandoned subscription fees. In contrast, AOL is only now offering free services in some markets. ''World Online has been much more flexible in adapting its business model than AOL,'' says Noah Yasskin, a Jupiter Communications Inc. analyst. Formerly the head of an electronics components distribution company, Brink launched World Online in 1997. To pay for expansion, she cajoled a $150 million investment out of the Swiss-based Sandoz Family Foundation. ''Nina works 18 hours a day. She is a war machine,'' says Victor Bischoff, managing director of the foundation. If Brink's a machine, she's a machine that likes to live well. Her sumptuous Antwerp villa overflows with Dutch paintings. She expects World Online to go public for $5 billion--giving her a $500 million payoff. No doubt that takes the sting out of working on a Saturday night. By William Echikson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Europe's Top e.business Leaders Ola Ahlvarsson: Result Venture Knowledge International Tomasz Czechowicz: Poland.com Nina Brink: World Online International N.V. Hasso Plattner: SAP Renato Soru: Tiscali Mark Schneider: United Pan-European Communications Kurt Hellstrom: Ericsson Ernesto Schmitt: peoplesound.com Chahram Becharat: Europ@web Paulus Neef: Pixelpark AG INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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