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Richard Sarnoff, who helped negotiate the Google Books Settlement as chair of the Association of American Publishers, is leaving Bertelsmann to join private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
Sarnoff was most recently president of Bertelsmann digital media investments division, the company's venture capital fund for emerging technology and new media business opportunities. Sarnoff will join KKR as a senior advisor on 1st February and will be replaced by Bertelsmann chief financial officer Thomas Rabe.
Sarnoff joined Bantam Doubleday Dell almost 25 years ago as an assistant in the sale and marketing department before eventually becoming CFO of both BDD and Random House US.
In a note to staff, Random House chief executive Markus Dohle said: "His unequalled strategic and financial savvy, his forward-thinking leadership broke ground for us in new media, corporate development, and investment opportunities. Along the way, he became a valued mentor to many of our current key executives across our international divisions [and] he is held in the highest regard by our industry for his pathfinding work on the proposed Google Book Search legal settlement."