The latest changes at EMI Group see EMI Music Publishing promote Leo Corbett to COO and Thomas Kelly to CFO. Corbett was executive VP/CFO for the publisher; Kelly was executive VP of finance.
Corbett has spent the past year overseeing the implementation of the publisher’s global strategic and technology programs. He will now take formal responsibility for the company’s global operations, overseeing sales, licensing and marketing functions.
“Leo has played an instrumental role in the development of EMI Music Publishing over the last two and a half years, as we build a world class sales and marketing organization to ensure that we are able to respond to the dynamics of the developing music marketplace,” said EMI Music Publishing chairman/CEO Roger Faxon in a statement. “Leo’s analytical awareness and deep understanding of process transformation will be key as we continue to grow our business.”
Corbett has spent much of his career as a venture capitalist and Wall Street executive. Having earned his bachelors degree and MBA from Harvard University, he went on to hold senior positions with Salomon Brothers, Lehman Brothers and the Prudential. Before joining EMI Music Publishing in 2005, he founded and led a venture capital fund at Zephyr Management, investing in specialized technology applications including rule-based software, business process improvement and data-mining.
Kelly, who will now manage the publisher’s financial operations on a global basis, joined EMI in 1991 from Ernst & Young. He became CFO for the publisher’s North American operations in 1998, and was promoted to executive VP with global responsibilities in January 2007. He is a certified public accountant and earned his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University.
“[Kelly’s] financial stewardship and ability to work effectively with both creative and sales teams will allow him to help us further improve our financial performance and discipline, and give us a solid platform for our ongoing development,” said Faxon.
Corbett and Kelly, both based in the publisher’s global headquarters in New York City, will report to Faxon.
