CAA Executive Climan Leaving

Sandy Climan, a senior executive at Creative Artists Agency, said Thursday that he is leaving the talent firm.

Sources said Climan has been approached by Michael Ovitz to join his new management venture, Artists Management Group, but that Climan is considering other options as well. In a statement released Thursday night, Climan said he expected to make an announcement soon.

CAA and Ovitz, who co-founded the talent agency, have been at odds since longtime CAA agent Michael Menchel announced recently that he was leaving the agency to join Ovitz and was taking with him actor Robin Williams and other major clients. CAA declared that it would no longer work with any clients who retained Ovitz.

Climan was an executive at CAA from 1986 to 1995, working closely with Ovitz to build the firm’s corporate relationships with such firms as Intel and several regional telephone companies. After Ovitz left CAA, Climan became executive vice president at Universal for two years before rejoining CAA in 1997.

Climan has been operating as a consultant in transactions involving new-media businesses. He returned this week from attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, an annual gathering of international political and business leaders.