UPDATED: CEO Eric Nicoli is stepping down as Terra Firma formalizes its acquisition of EMI. It has been rumored for several weeks that the investment firm was looking at new CEO candidates and might be
shaking up the executive suite.
Chris Roling and Ashley Unwin, both Managing Directors at Terra Firma, will join EMI on the company's board and as part of a new senior management team. Roling has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of EMI Group and Chief Financial Officer of both EMI Group and EMI Music. Unwin will serve as Director of Business Transformation for EMI Group and EMI Music.
Nicoli, CEO of EMI Group and EMI Music, has "agreed to step down in advance of the de-listing of the Group which is currently anticipated to take place on or around 18th September". Ironically Nicoli was said to have been a longtime champion of the Terra Firma buyout. His pain, however should be softened by a reported $5.64 million contract buyout.
Martin Stewart, CFO of EMI Group and EMI Music, has also resigned. Roger Faxon will continue as Chairman and CEO of the very profitable music publishing division and remain on the board.
The new structure also adds another layer to the the decision making process with the EMI board now reporting to a new supervisory board chaired by Guy Hands, Chief Executive of Terra Firma and including Julie Williamson, a Managing Director of TFCP who will focus on EMI's strategic business relationships along with other Terra Firms senior staff. (Official bios of the key Terra Firma players follow after the jump.)
More restructuring and cost cutting seems likely; and the fate of US EMI head Roger Ames and additions to the North American team including Jason Flom remain uncertain.
Guy Hands
Guy Hands is TFCP’s Chief Executive Officer and Founder. Guy sits on the Investment Advisory Committee and General Partners’ boards and has overall responsibility for the direction of Terra Firma and its investment strategy. He is involved in all major commercial issues, in particular those concerning acquisitions, exits and portfolio business strategy.
Guy started his career with Goldman Sachs International where he went on to become Head of Eurobond Trading and then Head of Goldman Sachs’ Global Asset Structuring Group. Guy left Goldman’s in 1994 to establish the Principal Finance Group (PFG) at Nomura International plc which acquired 15 businesses with an aggregate enterprise value of €20 billion. Guy led the spin out of PFG to form Terra Firma in 2002.
Chris Roling
Chris joined TFCP as a Managing Director in 2007 from Imperial Chemical Industries, where he was Senior Vice President Finance, Procurement and Logistics. Prior to that, Chris held senior international CFO, general management and strategy roles with Aventail Corporation, Getty Images, The Kellogg Company, RJR/Nabisco and PepsiCo.
Ashley Unwin
Ashley Unwin is Managing Director of Talent at TFCP with responsibility for ensuring the appropriate leadership for both prospective acquisitions as well as the current portfolio businesses. In addition, he advises on the structure of the businesses and the execution of their strategies.
Prior to joining TFCP in 2007, Ashley was a management consultant, firstly with Arthur Andersen where he had responsibility for the Strategy and Organisation consulting practice and then with Deloitte Consulting where has was a member of the UK executive.
Julie Williamson
Julie Williamson is a Financial Managing Director at TFCP. She led the team making the investment in Tank & Rast and was responsible for its refinancing in 2006 and the partial exit in 2007. Julie was also heavily involved in the group’s pub businesses.
