Epic Records EVP Angelica Cob-Baehler Makes Unexpected Exit

10:11 PM PDT 8/22/2012 by Shirley Halperin

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After less than a year on the job, the L.A. Reid-run label's marketing head, who was named one of Billboard's Top Women in Music in 2011, is a casualty of "senior management reassessment."

Less than a year after accepting a senior position at Epic Records, executive vp marketing Angelica Cob-Baehler is being let go. An Epic spokesperson confirmed the Los Angeles-based exec's exit, citing a reassessment of senior management functions specifically concerning the West Coast office.

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"Epic Records realigned resources today. As a result, all senior management marketing functions will be located at the Epic Records headquarters in New York City," said a label rep when asked by The Hollywood Reporter. "The Epic Los Angeles office will serve as a base for Epic's creative team, A&R and our artists."

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According to sources, it was Epic COO Mark Shimmel -- a relatively recent hire himself, having joined the label in January -- who delivered the news. Cob-Baehler, who was responsible for all marketing efforts, product management, brand partnerships, publicity, video production and creative at the label, reported directly to the New York-based Shimmel.

That apparently was a part of the problem: Although Cob-Baehler made frequent trips to the company's headquarters in New York, and label chairman L.A. Reid spends a good chunk of the fall in Los Angeles as a judge on The X Factor, the long-distance separation between marketing head and minions was an increasingly difficult hurdle, says an insider. Her exit came as surprise to many staffers, one of whom described Cob-Baehler as "one of the hardest-working executives I've ever met."

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Cob-Baehler had previously held an evp title at EMI, where she oversaw media and creative services. She also played a key role in bringing Katy Perry to the label group, after getting to know the singer at Columbia Records, where Cob-Baehler was vp publicity. In 2011, she was named one of Billboard Magazine’s Top Women in Music.

No word yet on her official end date.

Twitter: @shirleyhalperin