Global sports and entertainment leader Octagon has announced a major expansion of its golf business with the hiring of Stuart Cage, Ross Chouler, Joel Kribel, and Terry Baller. All will join Octagon’s Golf Division under the supervision of Managing Director David Yates.
“These individuals share Octagon’s global vision and commitment to providing the best client service in the industry,” said David Yates. “All of them exhibit exceptional character, extensive experience in the golf industry, and integrity, in addition to being leaders who will make an immediate impact on our golf business.”
Cage will direct Octagon’s player management efforts across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. A native of Leeds, England, Cage won the English Amateur Championship before turning professional in 1993. He then played the Challenge Tour and the European Tour, winning the Cannes Open in 1997. Cage spent the past 14 years at International Sports Management (ISM), where he played an integral part in managing some of the European Tour’s most talented and popular golfers including 2011 US Open Champion Rory McIlroy, 2010 British Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen, Chris Wood, Peter Uihlein, Joost Luiten and many others. He will operate from Octagon’s European headquarters in the UK.
A native of Johannesburg, South Africa, Chouler is a 10 year veteran of the industry, most recently with IMG. He has worked with and co-managed many star clients including 2008 Masters Champion Trevor Immelman, two-time U.S. Open Champion Retief Goosen, and four-time major winner Ernie Els. With experience in event management, Chouler has also led an extensive array of projects in golf, tennis and golf course design including the organization of the “Breaking the Mould” tennis series with Serena and Venus Williams in 2012. He will split his time between Europe, Africa and Octagon’s headquarters office in McLean, Virginia.
Joel Kribel, born and raised in northern California, was a four-time All-American at StanfordUniversity during which time he was the runner-up at the 1997 U.S. Amateur. Collegiately, Kribel won seven events while at Stanford, second to only Tiger Woods, and was a member of the 1997 U.S. Walker Cup Team and the U.S. World Amateur Team in 1996 and 1998. Following his graduation from Stanford in 1999, Kribel played professionally for the next 14 years on the PGA TOUR, Web.com Tour and PGA Tour Canada. He will be based in Octagon’s office in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Terry Baller joins Octagon with more than 17 years of experience in golf course management and golf course design. After spending the early part of his career at IMG and Gaylord Sports Management, Baller served as Vice President for Golf Course & Academy Design at Innovative Sports Ventures where he was responsible for evaluating investment opportunities for sports academy and golf course development. In 2012, he founded Sustainable Sports Solutions LLC, a company dedicated to working with governments, developers and private landowners to better understand the relationship between sports facilities and the environment. He will be based in Cleveland, Ohio.
Octagon has a long history in golf management around the world and is a leader in golf events under the supervision of Chris Higgs and corporate golf consultancy under the direction of Scott Seymour.
Octagon www.octagon.com