LONDON (Hypebot) –
EMI chief executive Elio Leoni-Sceti and Guy Hands who heads the label's ownership group at Terra Firma are fighting so frequently that Leoni-Sceti could be gone before the end of the year, according to Peter Lauria of the New York Post. The newspaper even commissioned the amusing graphic to the left to illustrate the squabbles.
It seems that first Hands ordered Leoni-Sceti to make executive Ronn Werre a "take it or leave it: offer" during contract negotiations. But when Werre chose "leave it "and got a better job offer at Sony, Hands reversed course and forced Leoni-Sceti to get Werre back at all costs. Days later Werre was back at EMI with twice the salary and a new expanded title.
On his way back in Werre also forced Leoni-Sceti to dump Douglas Merrill, the Google executive EMI had hired to run digital operations. To make matters worse. Sony slapped EMI and Werre with a $3 million breach of contract lawsuit.
The incident left Leoni-Sceti seething that Hands he had been put in this position by the flip flopping Hands and that Werre was not strong enough to challenge his authority. In fact, that's exactly what some expect the ambitious Werre to do. "Ronn would very much like the CEO job," an EMI source told The Post.
