Mark McCormack was Founder and Chairman of IMG, an international management organization that handles the commercial affairs for sports figures and celebrities. He was a lawyer who spotted the potential of sports marketing in the television age and signed golfer Arnold Palmer as his first client.

McCormack was described as the one of the most powerful men in sports. His clients included sports figures Tiger Woods, Pete Sampras, Michael Schumacher, Derek Jeter, Charles Barkley and models Kate Moss and Elizabeth Hurley. He wrote a bestselling book called What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School .

He passed away at a New York hospital in May 2003 after being in a coma for nearly five months after suffering a stroke.