Ex-ITV chief to chair EMI

10th Mar 2010 13:14

Troubled record company EMI has made former ITV boss Charles Allen its new chairman and announced the departure of its chief executive after just 18 months.Allen has already spent 14 months as non-executive chairman at the company, responsible for acts like Coldplay and Russell Brand's latest squeeze Katy Perry.Leono-Sceti became CEO in September 2008, but his cost-cutting agenda aimed at slashing the firm's huge debt burden put a strain on relationships with artists.EMI lost £1.8bn in 2009 following a surge in illegal downloading and decline in album sales. A £1bn write-down included £661m on the value of its music and £135m of restructuring costs.Allen said Leono-Sceti had "done a great job", while the Italian said his "job here is now done and it is time for me to move on". Guy Hands has had a difficult time since his Terra Firma investment vehicle paid £2.4bn for the business in 2007, backed by money from Citigroup. The private equity firm is currently in the process of suing the US bank, which it claims misled it during the acquisition just before the onset of the credit crunch.Hands is currently trying to persuade Terra Firma's investors to come up with £120m to help it avoid defaulting on its debt and to keep the company trading for another year. If it doesn't, Citigroup will take control.