He joined Time Inc. in 1972 after a brief career as an attorney and international investment banker. At Time Inc. he worked in the fledgling Home Box Office (HBO) pay-cable television subsidiary, starting out as a programming executive and eventually becoming chairman of the division. In 1975, during his tenure at HBO, Levin pioneered the use of telecommunications satellites for pay-cable television program distribution. At the time, HBO was using microwave technology to distribute programming to cable systems in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Levin proposed that all national program distribution be accomplished by satellite transmission, a concept that transformed the U.S. premium-cable industry and led to a dramatic increase in the number of satellite-delivered cable networks. HBO experienced rapid growth after it became available via satellite and became a standard pay-cable offering during the late 1970s and 1980s. By 1979 Levin was a group vice president supervising all cable television operations, and eventually moved into the vice chairman's position in 1988. His ascension within the Time corporate hierarchy marked a transition from print-oriented managers to others, such as Levin, who were involved with electronic media.

     Time Inc. merged with Warner Communications in 1990, and, as Time's chief strategist, Levin had an influential role in negotiating the complicated merger between two dissimilar corporate cultures. At the time, Time Warner published books and magazines, distributed recorded music, made motion pictures, and operated cable television production and distribution companies. From 1992 to 1995, Levin and Time Warner were the focus of a public furor over recorded music lyrics that some critics claimed were anti-social. Levin defended the constitutional First Amendment rights of the recording artists and film directors who created works for the company, but Time Warner finally dodged the controversy by divesting the music division that produced the most controversial recordings.

     Levin also played a central role in the 1996 acquisition of Turner Broadcasting. The Turner purchase brought all of that company's cable programming as­ sets to Time Warner, including the worldwide operations of CNN. The grand strategy was to create a vertically integrated media behemoth that would control not only the means of production in entertainment, news, and publishing, but also multiple channels of distribution for this content.

     Levin was an ardent champion of Time Warner's Full Service Network (FSN), a I00-plus-channel cable television system that was first introduced in Orlando, Florida. The Full Service Network used large computer servers to provide digitized programming, such as feature films, on viewer demand. The FSN project was canceled after several years of operation, but the company learned a great deal about digital interactive services in the process.

     The desire to have a major media presence on the Internet led to the purchase of Time Warner by America Online (AOL) in 2000. The deal was initiated by AOL CEO Steve Case in a series of meetings with Gerald Levin. The strategy was that the sale would facilitate the distribution of Time Warner programming by using the Internet to reach the large installed base of AOL subscribers. While Levin again worked hard to merge two dissimilar corporate cultures, the sale was initially not a good one for AOL Time Warner shareholders. Internal struggles at the company led to Ted Turner's "demotion" to board member and later to Levin's departure. Though announced as a voluntary retirement, some accounts indicated the exit was forced by influential members of the board, including Turner. AOL struggled to maintain its base of subscribers after the merger, and its poor performance provided a somber note for Gerald Levin's retirement. Levin's ascension within Time Inc. (and later in Time Warner) reflects the increasing centrality of electronic communication in mass media companies. He was a champion of electronic media services, and his early ability to foresee the role of technology in media distribution was an important element of his tenure as the chief executive of one of the world's largest media organizations.

     Since his retirement Gerald Levin has dedicated his time and energy to several charitable programs, in particular the creation of the Holistic Mental Health Institute in Los Angeles, California.