Nicoli Out At EMI

August 29, 2007

Eric Nicoli is out as the chief executive of EMI. Nicoli, as well as finance director Martin Stewart (read bio here) will depart the company that just weeks ago was acquired by private equity Terra Firma. He will leave with a $5.6 million payout. Chris Rolling, who comes from chemical company ICI, will be the new CEO and COO and will report to Terra Firma boss Guy Hands. Roger Faxon will continue to run EMI's publishing division. Ashley Unwin, formerly with Deloitte Consulting, will be brought on as director of business transformation.
The pieces are in place to radically transform EMI. Given the marketing deals now in place, as well as the company's stated goal of extracting value from the EMI catalog, separating recorded music from publishing seems unlikely -- in the near term. The Times Online on Terra Firma's move to bring in music outsiders:
"His appointment is a deliberate attempt to bring in outsiders to a business. The venture capital group wants managers who 'serve the artists' rather than 'spend their time hanging out in LA,' although they are willing to bring in new executives with music experience if they feel that credibility with talent is important at a senior level. ... The new team's strategy will be determined over the next few months, but Terra Firma said that the 'initial focus will be maximise the value of the significant assets in EMI's publishing business and to realise the digital opportunity in recorded music'. Insiders said a rapid sale of the recorded music business to Warner Music was off the agenda."
Billboard.biz reports of an internal letter to EMI artists sent by Nicoli that offers assurance that Terra Firma is committed to growth and respect toward the artists.
New management after an acquisition is common, but some thought Nicoli would stay on board. Just yesterday, the free London daily City A.M. reported that Eric Nilcoi would run EMI's recorded music division post-buyout, while Roger Faxon will continue to run the publishing unit. (City A.M. PDF, via Silicon Alley Insider)

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