Lagardère Sports and Entertainment fired its head of tennis, John Tobias, a move that followed two high-profile talent defections from his group in the past year, according to Daniel Kaplan of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The clients, Victoria Azarenka and Eugenie Bouchard, each went to WME-IMG, underscoring the competitive wave that company is sending through the sport under its new Hollywood owners. Tobias had 2 1/2 years remaining on a five-year contract. In his 13 years for the firm and its predecessor companies, he helped build the group from a few clients to one with more than 60. He said, "I'm very disappointed for how this has gone down at Lagardère." Andy Pierce, president and CEO, Americas, for the agency, said that Tobias "got caught up in plans to add more media and event businesses to tennis and not just focus on talent representation." Pierce conceded that keeping some of Tobias' direct clients, including Caroline Wozniacki and Andy Murray, could prove challenging. He said, "We certainly know we need to provide services to them. We need to figure it out." Pierce fired Tobias in person in N.Y. at a hotel bar, as corporate lawyers cleared out his office in L.A., one of the sources said. Pierce said Andrew Georgiou, Lagardère Sports and Entertainment COO, would take on a greater role in managing tennis. Also, Julien Cassaigne, a former top junior player, will have an elevated role in tennis, Pierce said. Lagardère is the No. 2 company worldwide in terms of number of tennis player clients (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, issue 10/19).
