WME-IMG Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell is exiting the agency to join the Trump administration as the incoming president’s director of strategic initiatives.
The New Zealand native had already been advising Donald Trump during the post-election transition and will now join him on a full-time basis.
“This week, Chris Liddell was appointed Assistant to the President and Director of Strategic Initiatives by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump,” said an internal WME-IMG memo, obtained by TheWrap.
“Chris joined WME-IMG at an important moment for our company and built a strong financial foundation that positions us to succeed in the years to come. We are grateful for his leadership and wish him well in this next chapter,” it continued.
“We are grateful for his leadership and wish him well in this next chapter.”
The Trump administration also issued a statement on the hiring, according to MSNBC, saying that Liddell’s leadership of “large, complex companies in the private sector” should help implement “system-wide improvement to the performance of the government.”
Jason Lublin will now assume the role of WME-IMG’s Global CFO, according to the agency’s memo. “Jason joined Endeavor as CFO in 2007 and has steered us in executive financial and operational roles ever since,” it said. “The past nine years have been unlike any other for this company, and Jason’s operational expertise and multidisciplinary approach helped us take leadership positions in new industries and geographies. In the midst of an incredible growth trajectory, Jason will now lead teams charged with further strengthening our position as a company unlike any other.”
Liddell joined WME-IMG in July 2014, filling the void created by the departure of Peter Klein.
Liddell came with more than 30 years of experience as a financial executive, having served as CFO of General Motors from 2010 to 2011 and CFO of Microsoft for four years before that.
In his latest position, Liddell will help form and oversee a series of task forces, the transition team said.