Veteran sports and entertainment attorney Brad Small has been tapped to lead Innovative Artists Entertainment’s foray into the sports representation business, the agency announced on Monday.
Small joins Innovative from Fox Rothschild LLP, where he served four years as a partner in the firm’s Entertainment & Sports Law Department in Los Angeles.
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At Innovative, Small will oversee sports entertainment performers and creators, bringing with him clients including Drew McIntrye, Jack Perry, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Goldberg, Kanako Urai (professionally known as Asuka) and Dallas Page, among others to be announced.
“Brad’s two decades of experience negotiating and navigating strategic and landscape-shifting deals for his clients, have set the model for the intersection of sports and entertainment, which uniquely poises him for success in our modern dealmaking landscape,” Scott Harris, CEO and Founder, Innovative Artists Entertainment, said in a statement to TheWrap. “His tenacious approach to dealmaking and forward-thinking vision are vital assets which will serve us well moving forward in the sports space, and we’re excited to welcome him to the Innovative team.”
“As the media business evolves, the sports industry and particularly professional wrestling have experienced an extraordinary resurgence in demand and popularity,” Small added. “I’m thrilled to join the exceptional team at Innovative at this critical point in the agency’s continued growth and to bring sports and entertainment together with a laser focus on expanding business opportunities for current and future clients.”
At the intersection of sports and entertainment, Small has worked on such projects as “Marco Polo,” “Mob Wives,” “Project Runway” and “Scream.” Hi clients include Academy Award and Emmy Award winning writers of several acclaimed television series, including Nick Pileggi, the writer of “Goodfellas” and “Vegas,” Joe Exotic of “Tiger King” and professional wrestlers Chris Jericho and Jack Perry, among many others.
Prior to joining Fox, he was a partner at Rosenfeld, Meyer & Susman LLP. He earned his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law and his B.A. from Brown University.
The news comes on the heels of the the agency announcing a partnership with private equity firm Coral Tree Partners in March, in which the firm acquired a minority stake in the agency. In the time period since, the agency has been on a continual growth streak of promotions and marquee signings across all departments.
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