GroupM Entertainment & Sports Partnerships North America CEO GREG LUCKMAN is jumping ship to CAA Sports, a strong indication that the five-year-old sports division of the Hollywood talent agency is making a run at the corporate consulting market. Luckman helped build GroupM ESP over the past five years into a powerful sports-marketing practice within one of the world's largest media-buying networks. Recent deals include the naming rights deal for Farmers Field and Citi's USOC sponsorship. "Greg is talented, well-respected, he's been at the top levels of consulting for years and recently he's been involved in some important deals," said CAA Sports co-Head HOWIE NUCHOW. "We knew that he was a guy we should target to grow our consulting business." Luckman will leave his current post Aug. 19 and start at CAA in N.Y. after Labor Day. As with most CAA roles, Luckman is without a title. However, his mission is clear: to create a corporate consulting practice that can rival the sales capabilities of CAA Sports. "This is about creating and building something," said Luckman. "That's sometime I've done already and something I look forward to doing again." BRYCE TOWNSEND, who has worked with Luckman for 13 years at both GroupM and Momentum, will take over as CEO at GroupM ESP NA.
