BEVERLY HILLS (CelebrityAccess) – WME parent Endeavor has acquired powerhouse speakers agency The Harry Walker Agency (HWA).
HWA’s client roster includes former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, Gloria Steinem, Stacey Abrams, Henry Kissinger, and Ronan Farrow, among others.
Going forward, New York-based HWA will continue operating as an independent division led by president Don Walker and managing director Ellen Kazis-Walker, while WME Speakers will be folded into the newly acquired company.
“The Harry Walker Agency has been the gold standard for almost 75 years,” Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said in a statement. “Their standard of excellence has long been imitated, but never replicated, and we’re proud to welcome them to the Endeavor family.”
“HWA and their speakers will now benefit from the global reach and resources of WME and the broader Endeavor network,” WME president Ari Greenburg added. “Additionally, the HWA team brings expertise and relationships that will strengthen our ability to support the world’s leading storytellers.”
“This is a transformational moment for HWA,” Walker and Kazis-Walker said. “We have found in Endeavor the perfect partner, one which allows us to maintain our culture as an independent, family guided business with the same unmatched team and dedication to excellence. In joining forces with WME, we’re able to create more opportunities for our speakers across the broad gamut of the marketplace of ideas including books, podcasts and television. We will now offer event planners a broader array of speakers across television, sports, film, music and media.”
