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Golf Executive Switches From Lagardere To Octagon

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Octagon has hired David Yates mere days after he announced his resignation from Lagardere Unlimited’s Golf division.

Early yesterday morning Sports Agent Blog published an article announcing that Lagardère Unlimited Golf’s senior vice president David Yates resigned from the company.  Later that day, Octagon revealed that it had already hired Yates, who will join the company next month as its Managing Director of Golf in Octagon’s Athletes & Personalities Division.  Yates will be tasked with leading Octagon’s golf representation practice.

“David’s expertise in talent representation, extensive history in golf and exceptional reputation for honesty and fairness are a tremendously strong set of qualifications,” said President and Founder Phil de Picciotto. “His international experience and the way he does business align perfectly with our operating footprint and philosophy. He will be a wonderful asset to Octagon. We are truly thrilled he has decided to join us.”

Yates is yet another example of the fluidity within the sports agent industry.  Not only do players jump from one agency to another with frequency, but there are also a lot of changing parts within the employment ranks of agencies as well.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.