What UTA’s lawsuit against Michael Kassan means for the industry

As the industry devours the juicy tidbits within UTA’s lawsuit filed against MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan that allege financial improprieties on Kassan’s part, a big question remains: What will happen to MediaLink’s clients as both parties dig in for what promises to be a nasty legal battle? MediaLink, which was acquired by UTA in 2021 for $125 million, and Kassan himself, cast long shadows in this industry. While many people know MediaLink for the lavish parties it throws at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, or the private affairs it hosts during CES featuring top-shelf entertainers like Lady Gaga, the company’s industry influence reaches far further. It is a key player in ad agency reviews and placement of key chief marketing officers and CEOs, such as former Dentsu Global CEO Wendy Clark. MediaLink has fielded $220 billion in agency contracts since 2020 and has advised on $50 billion in merger and acquisition deals in the last two years alone, according to its website. It also claims to do business with seven of the top 10 media agencies in the world. Currently, MediaLink is also handling some massive agency reviews: It’s now in the throes of a CRM agency review for General Motors and consulting on the automaker's media model. It’s running a media review for Gap and a creative review for Adobe, according to several people familiar with the situation. A representative for GM on Wednesday confirmed that the automaker continues to work with MediaLink but declined to comment further. Adobe didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Agency A-List winners here The $10 million question It appears that much hinges on whether he resigned or was fired from UTA. In his legal request for arbitration filed on March 12, Kassan accused UTA of breaching his contract and acting in bad faith. UTA in its March 12 lawsuit alleges that Kassan was “terminated by cause,” accusing him of a “misappropriation of company funds.” Sanford Michelman, a lawyer for Kassan, in a statement said UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer "broke promises and began to impede the success of MediaLink, Michael was left with no other option other than to resign and file this lawsuit against Zimmer and UTA for breach of contract." Among those transgressions cited in the UTA lawsuit: Kassan is said to have paid a private driver out of company funds, including the rent on the driver’s apartment; issued a MediaLink credit card to his wife that was used to buy “numerous luxury goods”; paid his housekeeper from company funds and used company proceeds to pay for personal family trips on private planes. The suit also claims that Kassan withdrew $486,459.96 from MediaLink’s Wells Fargo account to pay his personal credit card debt. Kassan in his arbitration filing alleges UTA conducted a “sham audit” of his spending in order to “reduce the Special Expenses budget Kassan had been promised,” which is cited as $1.5 million ($950,000 after taxes) annually. Michelman in his statement said Kassan "decided to make the deal with UTA in the first place because the contract he negotiated specifically called out that Michael would oversee the day-to-day operations and long-term strategy of UTA marketing, and Michael would be given a special expense budget of $950,000 to spend as he saw fit. However, shortly after the deal was finalized, Zimmer began to walk back these specific parts of their contract." Kassan’s arbitration request states that he forfeited $10 million in severance by resigning. This appears to be key to whether he would be bound by a non-compete or could start his own firm. The arbitration filing states that “Kassan elected to forego a nearly $10 million severance payment so that he could leave Zimmer, a man he could no longer trust given his behavior and broken promises, to continue on with his passion for providing advisory work to his clients.” UTA claims that was not the case. “Michael Kassan was terminated by UTA on March 7 and made aware well before that UTA had grounds to fire him. His claim against UTA has no merit and is an attempt to divert attention from the misappropriation of company funds that led to his termination,” said Bryan Freedman, counsel to UTA. Michelman said “Michael’s first priority is the success and continued growth of MediaLink, a company he started more than 17 years ago, and he looks forward to ensuring its continued success in the industry.” One consulting competitor told Ad Age the company had already received calls from two MediaLink staff members looking to jump ship. “If a few staff desert, or a few clients, then it will be a slippery slope and hard to stop that momentum,” the consultant said. “It will be interesting to see whether key staff leave, try to join [Kassan] in a new venture, possibly risking more legal suits.” Perhaps the biggest issue UTA will have to overcome is likely the reason it bought MediaLink in the first place—it’s Kassan that has the connections. “It leaves a big hole [at MediaLink] as Kassan made all the company’s decisions,” said the consulting competitor. “He was literally like a queen bee in a hive.” And love him or hate him—and there are industry insiders on both sides—there’s no doubt that MediaLink is very much the house that Kassan built. “He has the uncanny ability to be everywhere all at once, manage three phone calls at a time and make you feel like you have his full attention,” said an agency CEO who knows him. “Clients hire him because he gets shit done. Michael is MediaLink. Without him, the name may survive but it will not be the same.” Business as usual? And then there’s the Cannes Lions, just three months away, where MediaLink has always had an outsized presence. Last year it hosted a soiree with major ad executives that included a performance by Lizzo. Kassan himself also appeared on stage. While one executive close to the situation described it as “business as usual” at MediaLink, it’s clear that a public battle is at the very least a distraction, if not a disruption. A spokesperson for UTA said MediaLink’s leadership team is “highly engaged” with clients in “making sure that our work on their behalf continues seamlessly.” The spokesperson declined to discuss if there is a successor in line for Kassan, an interim leader, or plans to hire a new CEO. MediaLink lists several key lieutenants under Kassan on its website, including Managing Directors Devrie DeMarco, Andrea Kerr Redniss, Donna Sharp, Brett Kassan Smith, Mark Wagman, Christopher Vollmer, and Lena Petersen, who also serves as a chief brand officer. “There’s a strong leadership team in place at MediaLink that continues to carry the business forward,” a spokeswoman for UTA said. Contributing: E.J. Schultz, Lindsay Rittenhouse This story has been updated with comments from Kassan's lawyer.

What UTA’s lawsuit against Michael Kassan means for the industry

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