Kassan Out At MediaLink, Legal Actions Filed

by Joe Mandese , March 13, 2024

Michael Kassan is out of MediaLink, the influential management consulting firm he founded more than two decades ago, following legal actions filed by both Kassan and UTA, the Los Angeles talent agency that acquired MediaLink from Ascential plc for $125 million two years ago.

The news, which broke in a number of Hollywood trades overnight, includes an arbitration suit filed by Kassan claiming damages from UTA, and an alleged suit filed by UTA reportedly charging Kassan with misappropriation of funds.

The news is the latest in a series of high-profile developments involving Kassan since he was dismissed by Interpublic's Initiative Media unit in 1999 and founded MediaLink in 2003, and subsequently built it into one of the most powerful consultancies at the intersection of advertising, media, entertainment and technology.

The news comes a month before Kassan is set to take the stage at the Possible conference in Miami next month, where the agenda includes "an exciting announcement coming soon" as part of a conversation between Kassan and Walmart Chief Revenue Officer Seth Dallaire.

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2 comments about "Kassan Out At MediaLink, Legal Actions Filed".

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Lily Robins from n/a, March 26, 2024 at 1:15 p.m.
Sooo basically UTA spent a crazy amount of money on MediaLink without understanding that Kassan is what makes MediaLink work --- yep, sounds like smart business to me.
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Joe Mandese from MediaPost Inc., March 26, 2024 at 1:24 p.m.

@Lily Robins: On the bright side, UTA spent a lot less for MediaLink than Ascential did:

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/369505/ascential-sells-medialink-to-uta-for-125m-origin.html