Google exec to head EMI digital music

LONDON (Reuters) - Google has lost another member of its executive team as Chief Information Officer Douglas Merrill is leaving to join music company EMI.

EMI said in a statement on Wednesday that as president of its digital music business, Merrill will head a new global function including digital strategy, technology and business development.

"I have two passions. One is creating platforms and tools that make it easier for consumers to achieve their goals. The other is music," Merrill said.

Merrill takes up his post on April 28 and will be based at EMI Music's Los Angeles offices in California.

The world's fourth largest music label, based in London, is home to top selling artists such as Coldplay and is the distributor of the Beatles back catalogue.

Google spokesman Matt Furman confirmed Merrill had left the Web search leader four years after joining the company. Merrill rose to manage all internal engineering and technical support globally for the Silicon Valley company.

"We wish him the best," Furman said.

EMI was publicly traded in London until last year, when it was taken off the market by private equity group Terra Firma in a 2.4 billion pound deal to restructure the label.

Earlier this year, the ailing company, which has been hit by online piracy, falling CD sales and a poor release schedule, announced plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs. The plan to rebuild EMI by boosting online sales has proved controversial with some of its biggest acts.