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Who

Schmidt-Holtz is the CEO of Sony BMG Entertainment, the joint venture between—you guessed it—the Japanese electronics/entertainment giant Sony and the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann.

Backstory

German-born Schmidt-Holtz is a grizzled veteran of the Bertelsmann media empire—he's been at the company for two decades. In the 1980s, he worked in the print division, editing the weekly news magazine Stern; he later headed up one of the conglomerate's TV divisions before moving to the U.S. in the 1990s to pitch in on the music side. In 2004, he represented BMG in its negotiations to form a joint venture with Sony Music. Following the deal's completion, he became chairman while his counterpart, Sony Music chief Andy Lack, stepped into the CEO slot. When it became clear that Lack, well, lacked what was required to manage the behemoth, in 2006 Schmidt-Holtz and Lack switched roles. Schmidt-Holtz took over as CEO and rolled up his sleeves, while Lack moved into the chairman's office, where he's expected to stay until his contract to runs out.

Of note

The industry has been roiled by declining profits in recent years and it was this severe economic pressure that sent both companies to the negotiating table in 2004. The choice of Lack as CEO, though, was widely perceived to be a early blunder for the joint venture. He had been recruited to Sony Music in 2002 by longtime pal Howard Stringer—he replaced Tommy Mottola—but his dearth of music experience had never endeared him to his Sony Music colleagues, and he didn't do much better when he assumed the top spot at Sony BMG. Schmidt-Holtz has generally provided stable leadership, but the big question these days is if the arrangement between Sony and BMG will even continue for much longer. It's been reported that Bertelsmann is interested in selling its 50% stake to shore up its core media business and discussions have taken place to sell Bertelsmann's shares to Sony or a third party.

For the record

The combined company is made up of several dozen labels, including Arista, Columbia, Epic, J, Jive, LaFace, and RCA. The second-largest music conglomerate in the world, Sony BMG's labels are home to the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake, Whitney Houston, Jessica Simpson, Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, R. Kelly, Rod Stewart.

On the job

Schmidt-Holtz works closely with Barry Weiss, who was appointed CEO and chairman of the BMG Label Group in 2008 after Clive Davis was pushed aside (he's now the company's chief creative officer) and Charles Goldstuck was ousted as president. On the Sony side, he deals closely with Howard Stringer, Rob Stringer, and Rob Wiesenthal. Another key deputy is Kevin Kelleher, Sony BMG's CFO.

Personal

Schmidt-Holtz divides his time between a home in Germany and an apartment on West 67th Street.