Heavyweight sports marketing agency IMG is creating two new senior leadership roles – a chief business officer (CBO) and a chief client and operations officer.
IMG unveiled this restructuring of its senior leadership team earlier today, announcing that Barney Francis (who joined IMG in 2021) will be moved to fill the CBO role.
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Chris Guinness, executive vice president and global head of commercial and rights, will leave the company in July (whilst still consulting until the end of 2026), after over three decades at the UK-based firm.
Adam Kelly, president of IMG – now owned by the TKO Group after being bought from Endeavor early last year – said: "We’ve built strong momentum in recent years, partnering with many of the most iconic rightsholders in sport and media.
"Our focus now is scaling that impact with further clarity and consistency across the business. Bringing our revenue functions together under Barney’s leadership will better connect our capabilities, strengthen execution, and unlock greater value for our partners."
Both the CBO and the chief client and operations officer will report in to Kelly, with IMG believing the restructuring will bring in "a more centralized structure" that can "better align the company's commercial and client operations."
IMG has said that news on Francis' client and operations counterpart will be announced over the coming weeks.
Francis, who previously spent 11 years as managing director at UK pay-TV heavyweight Sky Sports, has been IMG's executive vice president for studios since he joined in October 2021.
He will now lead all IMG's commercial functions, while the chief client and operations hire will be responsible for the agency's various 'capability centres' – noted down as rights, studios, brand partnerships, consulting, digital and data, channels, and event management.
Kelly added, on the subject of Guinness leaving: "Chris has played a defining role in IMG’s commercial success. His leadership and counsel have left a lasting impact on both our culture and the wider industry. We are extremely grateful for his contribution over more than three decades.”
In terms of IMG personnel news, late January saw the agency announce two new senior hires for its Asia-Pacific (APAC) team, with Carlo Nohra and Phil Mooney tasked with accelerating business development in the region.
IMG’s APAC team, which is spread across 15 key markets, works with leagues and federations in the region to offer advisory, commercial, digital, production, and event management solutions.
The agency has an extensive overall client list of 250 federations, associations, events, and teams including American football’s NFL, soccer’s English Premier League and MLS, the International Olympic Committee, ice hockey’s NHL, the men’s ATP and women’s WTA tennis tours, the Wimbledon grand slam, Euroleague Basketball, and golf’s DP World Tour, as well as combat sports UFC and WWE.
The last 12 months have seen the firm extend partnerships with bodies such as soccer's Conmebol, MLS, and the Saudi Pro League, as well as the US Tennis Association and EuroLeague Basketball.
Earlier in April, meanwhile, IMG Licensing struck a deal with the organizers of next year's America's Cup.
For the 2027 edition of the iconic sailing race, set to take place in Naples, Italy, IMG Licensing has been appointed to serve as the exclusive global licensing agency.
