Team – ICM Stellar

OUR TEAM

ICM Stellar Sports’ global network of agents, scouts and support staff ensure that when you are represented by us you have the very best team behind you.

With sport being a truly global affair, ICM Stellar Sports has the power to help clients take advantage of all the prospects on offer, be it transfers to foreign clubs, access to competitions or marketing/branding opportunities.

Boasting some of the most experienced and successful agents and specialists in the business, with many of our staff former elite athletes themselves, ICM Stellar Sports always goes the extra mile to ensure you can concentrate on your game and leave the rest to us.

LEADERSHIP

Jonathan began his professional career as a management trainee with the Curzon Group in 1973 and spent 17 years working in various business sectors, gaining a wealth of invaluable experience, leading to his appointment as head of its PR division, which he maintained before leaving the group in 1990 following its sale. As an elite sportsman himself, Jonathan has always had a keen interest in sport, so a progression into sports management was the natural next step and resulted in him establishing the Stellar Group with business partner David Manasseh in 1992. Over the years Jonathan has become synonymous with sporting success, from initially discovering and nurturing major talents such as Glen Johnson, Peter Crouch and Ledley King in football, managing world record holding cricketer Brian Lara and being the only man to have been involved in managing two heavyweight world boxing champions at the same time in Lennox Lewis and Michael Bent. His success and influence even reached world leaders, when Nelson Mandela asked him to help bring the West Indies and Pakistan cricket teams to South Africa following the end of Apartheid. More recently, Jonathan’s most notable success culminated in the world record transfer of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid and being named most powerful agent in the world by Forbes Magazine.

JONATHAN BARNETT
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

When David left Harrow School in 1988, he had to decide on whether to pursue a career in cricket with Somerset who had offered him a contract or a professional career in the property sector with Clive Lewis & Partners. He decided on a career in the property sector and became a key member of their team and also continued his cricket as a playing captain of the MCC. In 1992 David established the Stellar Group with business partner Jonathan Barnett; he lives and breathes his business and is at the forefront of the unprecedented growth in clients over the last decade. David not only has a good eye for footballing talent and has recruited some of the game’s biggest stars at a young age, including Gareth Bale, Ashley Cole, Joe Hart, Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw to name a few but he has an incredible understanding of the management needs of his clients. David is responsible for the day to day running of the football business and is very much a hands on Managing Director driving the business forward at every opportunity. He is a key player in European football, incredibly well connected and respected throughout the industry. David spends the little spare time that he has when not watching sport with his wife and children.

DAVID MANASSEH
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

Executive Board

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Joshua joined Stellar Group in 2007, directly from Regents Business School and has been instrumental in the growth of the company’s youth division. As head of youth recruitment and talent identification, Joshua and his team use our elite scouting system to recruit the best young players in the UK. Joshua also manages his team’s delivery of the ongoing management of those players on a day to day basis and personally negotiates their endorsements and club contracts. Joshua’s team has gone from strength to strength, with our youth division developing some of the best young players in the country and becoming the subject of multi-million pound transactions both on and off the pitch. More recently Joshua’s role within the company has expanded taking on a more active interest in overseeing and growing not only the UK but the group’s international offices, managing the scouting, marketing and general day to day running of operations. As a member of the board, Joshua plays a key role in developing our strategy, his expertise, knowledge and growing reputation at home and abroad are vital to the continued success of our company.

JOSHUA BARNETT
Managing Director

After 13 years in banking, initially in the personal sector with NatWest Bank and then moving to commercial banking and finance with HFC Bank. David decided to start his own business in sports management, setting up X8 Sports Management in 1998. He built a vibrant and successful business, which when sold to Stellar Group in 2004 had 70 clients on its books. As a director within Stellar Group, the acquisition offered David a fantastic opportunity to grow the business and the last 12 years have been challenging and rewarding. In addition to managing the Liverpool office with a staff of 9 people the main part of David’s job is negotiating major playing and endorsement contracts on behalf of both players and clubs. As a member of the board, David also plays a key role in shaping the strategic direction of the company. Outside of work, David enjoys a full and varied life; He set up the original SoccerAid in March 2005 at Anfield which raised over £450,000 for Save the Children following the Asian Tsunami. He is co-founder of Westlake Equine Therapy Centre, a charity which assists people with autism and special needs.