IMG: George Pyne steps down as president and is expected to create sports management agency

George Pyne (USA) will leave his function of president of IMG Worldwide, said the American newspaper the New York Post on 12/08/2014. He occupied this position since 2006.

His departure coincides with the purchase of the media and marketing rights agency IMG by the artist representation agency WME (William Morris Endeavor Entertainment) for $2.3bn (€1.7bn), on 18/12/2013. No replacement has been communicated yet by IMG and WME.

George Pyne, 48, should, according to several American media outlets, create a sports management agency. He is looking to raise $500m (approximately €373m) with Kaveh Khosrowshahi, managing director of Allen & Co., an American investment bank, to create this company, according to the American economic media Bloomberg on 13/08/2014. “I’ve made it clear that I don’t have any desire to compete with IMG,” said George Pyne, who will also have an advisory role for WME and IMG, to Bloomberg.

In 2007 George Pyne created IMG College, the IMG division that owns the marketing and sports media rights of more than 200 American universities. This division generated an annual…