Hachette Filipacchi CEO Alain Lemarchand took his first step in rebuilding the company’s depleted executive ranks yesterday by hiring Microsoft executive Robin Domeniconi to be the chief brand officer of the company’s flagship Elle title.

Domeniconi, who was vice president, US advertising sales, marketing and publishing for the software giant, had spent 14 years at Time Inc. before leaving in one of Time’s downsizings.