EXCLUSIVE: Veteran talent agent Eddy Yablans is leaving CAA to join Rick Yorn’s management company LBI Entertainment as a partner. Yablans, whose agenting career spans 35 years at ICM and CAA, will start his new job on Jan. 1 and will be based in Los Angeles and New York. Many of his existing clients are expected to remain with him in his role as a manager.

At CAA, Yablans represented such performers as Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Daniels, Gabriel Macht, Leslie Bibb, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Gretchen Mol, Janelle James, Jim Belushi, Jared Harris, Ian McShane, Patrick J Adams, and James Austin Johnson, the majority of whom he also had repped at ICM as many of his clients have been with him for 25-30 years.

“I am thrilled to be joining Rick and everyone at LBI,” Yablans said. “They are the best at what they do, and I’m so excited to continue representing my clients in a more intimate and personal manner.”

Yablans began his career in the mailroom at ICM in 1988. He was a founding partner and board member of ICM Partners and moved to CAA following the agency’s 2022 acquisition of ICM.

“I’ve known Eddy since I started in the business and he’s been such a great friend all these years,” Yorn said. “He’s truly one of the greats in the industry and I couldn’t be more excited to now work with him as part of the LBI team.”

Yablans’ career move had been in the works for awhile. Its timing was likely accelerated by the recent events at CAA. Yablans’ name was among a couple dozen or so rumored to be leaving the agency, which implemented a round of layoff last month, followed by a trickle of staff cuts, the latter largely impacting young, up-and-coming agents.

A couple of other agents who recently departed CAA also made a move to management; TV lit agent Joel Begleiter joined TFC as partner; talent agent Josh Pearl went to Mosaic.