Greg Brown Leaves Learfield IMG College Sooner Than Expected

Learfield IMG College’s longtime President & CEO Greg Brown has stepped aside, clearing the way for Cole Gahagan to move into the top job as the college sports marketing giant transforms into a media- and tech-focused company. Gahagan, 43, was hired in December to lead new initiatives in social media, content, digital and data analytics with the expectation that he would be Brown’s successor at some point. It just wasn’t expected to happen this quickly. 

Brown and Gahagan said the timing was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. They decided to make the leadership transition now, effective immediately, to cause the disruption while the sports industry already is on pause. Brown said Gahagan will bring a fresh perspective to the job. “Cole is incredibly bright,” Brown said. “He looks at things differently than I do and that will be good for the company. He has a real gift for all things, social, digital and data, and the business really needs that.”

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