Alberto Horta has been confirmed as IMG’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director for DACH, as the sports and events management firm targets further growth in the region.
Based in Munich and reporting directly to Ross Hair, IMG Media’s SVP and Head of EMEA, Horta’s new remit will be to drive IMG’s commercial strategy and media rights distribution in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
He joins the company after an active year which saw IMG sign multiple media rights deals in the second half alone, partnering with the British Basketball League (BBL) and Dutch Eredivisie, as well as the Cricket World Cup and Rugby World Cup via its Sport 24 division.
Hair remarked: “As a highly accomplished leader in the media industry, Alberto’s wealth of knowledge, diversity of experience and breadth of relationships bring valuable commercial and managerial qualities to IMG Media.
“We are delighted to welcome Alberto to the team and I look forward to working with him to develop and grow our clients’ businesses in the region.”
Prior to IMG, Horta held down a number of positions in media rights and sports broadcasting, most recently working for international giant Warner Bros. Discovery.
His 15-year tenure at the company has included terms as Deputy General Manager of TELE 5, Deputy General Manager of GSA and Vice President for Commercial Development at GSA and Benelux.
During his time at Discovery, Horta oversaw the launch of Discovery+ in DACH, integration of the aforementioned TELE 5 and the commercialisation of sports rights to major events such as the Bundesliga and Olympics.
He also led the development of and launch strategies for Warner Bros. Discovery’s regional Free TV, Pay TV and digital revenue businesses, DMAX, TLC and HGTV.
“I am thrilled joining the IMG family and its best-in-class team,” Horta remarked. “I am very much looking forward to further expanding and diversifying IMG’s unique portfolio of existing and new clients across the territories.”
He joins IMG as the firm eyes up expansion in a number of areas, both regarding media rights and otherwise – in December last year the company bolstered its betting operations by acquiring Leap Gaming.
