IMG golf stalwart Grant Slack has been promoted to executive vice president and managing director, golf events.
Formerly senior vice president and managing director, Slack’s promotion was one of two announced by IMG within its media and events group led by Sam Zussman and Adam Kelly as co-presidents. The other senior promotion was for Gavin Forbes, formerly senior vice president and managing director, who has been elevated to executive vice president and managing director, tennis events.
“Gavin and Grant are both respected leaders with strong track records who serve as trusted resources across our company and the sports industry more broadly,” said Zussman. “Despite the past year’s challenges for the live events industry, they’ve stayed the course, and will play a key role in the continued growth and success of our events business moving forward.”
Slack has been working in professional sports for more than 20 years and joined IMG in 2005 as vice president of golf for Asia, before taking the helm of the company’s golf events business in 2016. Based in Singapore, he is responsible for the strategic direction, financial results, staging and implementation of IMG’s global golf event portfolio, including oversight of professional tournaments, special events, junior development initiatives and hospitality programs.
Under Slack’s leadership, IMG’s golf events team has staged approximately 100 events, including the most successful Solheim Cup to date in 2019 and new events including the Buick LPGA Shanghai and Saudi International. Despite the challenges of the global pandemic, Slack recently oversaw the multi-year title sponsorship renewals of three of HSBC’s long-standing Asian golf partnerships: the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore, the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, and the CGA-HSBC China Junior Golf Program. He currently overseas 20 tournaments globally — split equally between men’s and women’s events — and is also the chairman of Asian Tour Media, a joint venture between IMG and the Asian Tour.
Forbes has been with IMG for more than 30 years, taking the helm of the company’s tennis events business in 2018. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, he is responsible for the strategic direction, financial results, staging and implementation of IMG’s global tennis event portfolio, including oversight of professional tournaments, special events, junior development initiatives and hospitality programs.
