This is interesting. According to the New York Post, Jim Wiatt, former CEO of the William Morris Agency, who became Chairman of the merged William Morris Endeavour agency, is getting ready to step down.
Rival talent agencies William Morris and Endeavour, the former of which is active in the music space, only merged last month, with Wiatt becoming Chairman of the combined company, while another WMA exec, David Wirtschafter, as well as two Endeavour chiefs, Ariel Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, were named joint CEOs.
It's thought Wiatt has decided to step down rather than fight a battle for supremacy in the merged company with Emanuel, who, insiders say, has taken the initiative in the new management set up. At the time of the merger the radically different corporate cultures of the two firms was noted by some, and it seems Emanuel is ensuring the new larger company adopts his management style, despite the William Morris Agency's much longer history in the business.
In fact, Endeavour's relative youth as a company - it was founded 14 years ago - is arguably why execs from their have had the upper hand in this merger, with some feeling management style at WMA was a little antiquated for the modern entertainment industry. That goes for Wiatt personally too, because, while he's widely liked across the company and industry, he is also seen by some as being very much of the older generation.
HitsDailyDouble point out the slight irony in Emanuel essentially pushing Wiatt out of his job - Wiatt once fired Emanuel when they both worked at talent agency ICM.