IMPORTANT NOTE:
You do NOT have to register to read, post, listen or contribute. If you simply wish to remain fully anonymous, you can still contribute.
|
Home  Forums |
|
|
|
|
Topic History of: Lack out / Schmidt-Holtz in: Music Giants Close to Deal on Executive
Max. showing the last 5 posts - (Last post first)
|
JK2006 |
nm |
|
DJones |
By JEFF LEEDS
Sony and Bertelsmann are close to a deal to replace the chief executive of their jointly owned music conglomerate with its nonexecutive chairman, aiming to settle management tensions that have rocked the company, according to executives briefed on the talks.
The deal, which could be completed by the end of the week, would install Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, a Bertelsmann executive who serves as the chairman of the board of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, as chief executive. Andrew Lack, who has been chief executive, would in effect switch places with Mr. Schmidt-Holtz. Mr. Lack would be giving up day-to-day control of the company, but in his new role might oversee certain functions, like the music company's governmental relations, the executives said.
Representatives for Sony and Bertelsmann declined to comment. A spokesman for Sony BMG also declined to comment.
The swap would be a solution to an outbreak of infighting that has swept the music company, the second-largest after Vivendi Universal's music unit. Mr. Schmidt-Holtz and Mr. Lack orchestrated the merger of their music companies in 2004, and since then the company has suffered from internal squabbles and a string of legal and public relations woes.
Even as the two sides have approached an accord, the tumult surrounding the joint venture's management has prompted many inside and outside the company to question whether Sony, the Japanese electronics giant, and Bertelsmann, the German media company, can maintain their relationship in the long term.
Mr. Schmidt-Holtz declined to comment last night. Mr. Lack, through a spokesman, also declined to comment.
The spat between the two parent companies burst into public view in October, after Bertelsmann notified Sony that it did not support the renewal of Mr. Lack's contract, which is to expire at the end of March. Progress in resolving the dispute has dragged on for months, lasting through the industry's critical holiday shopping period.
The talks have been slowed, the executives who have been briefed on them said, in part because of each companies' insistence on retaining as much power as possible in a venture that was created as a delicate balance. The balance became particularly fragile last year after Michael Smellie, an executive who came from the Bertelsmann side and served as the venture's chief operating officer, announced he would leave the company. Mr. Lack has not replaced him.
The company has been rife with chatter about who might be appointed to the job to work with Mr. Schmidt-Holtz, and how the new management structure might shift the company's overall balance of power. Names mentioned have included Kevin Kelleher, the company's current chief financial officer, who came from the Sony organization, although many are betting on Tim Bowen, who came from Bertelsmann and oversees the venture's operations in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Schmidt-Holtz would be taking the reins as the company's performance has been showing signs of improvement. Sony BMG, which is based in New York, reported a profit in its most recent quarter after losing money the quarter before, and is expected to claim the top spot on the nation's sales chart today with an album from Barry Manilow. |
|
|
|
|
