IMG Chair & CEO TED FORSTMANN is battling brain cancer and a "malignant tumor was removed from his head last week," according to Charlie Gasparino of Fox Business. Forstmann is "still managing his company, IMG and Forstmann Little, remarkably in the office one week after the removal" of the tumor. Sources close to Forstmann said that "he knows he's in the battle of his life" (Fox Business, 5/3). IMG yesterday confirmed that Forstmann is dealing with “some serious personal health issues that have recently arisen,” but the details of those “are a private matter.” IMG Senior VP/Corporate Communications JIM GALLAGHER said, “Ted is coming to the office every day and it is business as usual at IMG” (THE DAILY). In N.Y., Atkinson & Kosman report in lieu of Forstmann's reported health condition, IMG is "moving to reassure employees, clients and directors about the future of the firm." IMG, whose many sports clients include TIGER WOODS, MUHAMMAD ALI and ROGER FEDERER, is "expected to update board members and staff within the next 24 hours about Forstmann's progress and his plans for the firm after the 71-year-old executive underwent treatment for brain cancer." Sources indicated that Forstmann is "not expected to relinquish his day-to-day duties," but his condition "could mean that a No. 2 will eventually have to step in." Sources noted that Forstmann "doesn't have a natural successor at IMG" (N.Y. POST, 5/4). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Matthew Futterman reports IMG "has plans in place in the case of an emergency." While IMG "has always been a multifaceted sports-marketing concern, during the past six years Mr. Forstmann has shifted its focus from athlete representation to deals that involve marketing major events and the content associated with them" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/4).
