Mike Fleming

BREAKING: ICM Partners has hired Ruthanne Secunda, the longtime UTA talent agent whose client roster includes Piper Perabo, Alicia Silverstone and Meg Ryan, Jon Cryer, Lucy Liu and Jane Krakowski, Marcia Gay Harden, Nathan Fillion, Poppy Montgomery, Rebecca Romijn, Zachary Knighton, Jerry O’Connell, Tori Spelling, Michael Imperioli, Tom Cavanaugh and Thomas Sadoski. This all just happened, and there will certainly be a skirmish for clients between Secunda’s new agency and her former haunt. Insiders at ICM Partners said Secunda will fit in perfectly with the culture that the revamped agency is trying to instill. In a joint statement, the partnership said, “Ruthanne has played a vital role over the last decade in cultivating talent and developing and packaging successful television shows. We are thrilled to have Ruthanne as part of the team at ICM Partners.”

In 2008, Secunda was promoted to co-head of the TV talent department at UTA, where she has worked for the past 16 years. A month ago, Mike Jelline, who joined UTA from ICM last year, was upped to co-head of TV Talent alongside Nancy Gates, with Secunda “re-focusing on client representation.”

Secunda started her career at the famous Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., eventually moving to New York City, where she worked for NBC and then transitioned to agent at Abrams Artists, later launching the agency’s comedy department. Following her tenure at Abrams, Secunda became a manager at 3 Arts Entertainment and then moved back into her role as an agent when hired by UTA. Secunda is well-known for her ability to identify and cultivate talent.

Last month, ICM Partners announced the additions of leading literary agents Bart Walker and his colleague Christina Bazdekis, both of whom brought an impressive roster of clients to the agency. Last week, the agency announced an expansion of the agency’s publishing arm, establishing a strategic alliance with the Washington, D.C.-based firm The Sagalyn Agency, which represents a roster of more than 100 award-winning and bestselling writers including journalists, academics, business thinkers and novelists.