IF SCALING asset-light but brand-rich businesses is more an art than science, then Jamie Salter is a master craftsman. His privately held firm, Authentic Brands Group, has built a multi-billion-dollar 50-plus brand portfolio by acquiring names such as Forever 21, Reebok, Brooks Brothers, and Champion, and the latest, Guess. Clocking over $38 billion in sales, with sport IPs making up 25% of the portfolio, Salter is now aiming for the $100-billion mark by purchasing brands clocking over $1 billion in sales, even as he is betting big on the entertainment business to drive scale. Authentic focusses on acquiring entertainment, sports, and lifestyle brand rights, and licenses them globally. Instead of owning the entire value chain, its partners handle manufacturing, sales, distribution and so forth. The 63-year-old founder shares his insights on scaling IP-rich businesses and why growth will come from global markets, including India. Edited excerpts:

You’ve grown Authentic Brands from a start-up idea 16 years ago to the world’s second-largest licensing company (behind only Disney), clocking $38 billion in retail sales after the Guess deal. From pure IP (intellectual property) acquisition and licensing business model you are now looking at a broader “cultural kingmaker” platform spanning entertainment, sports, hospitality, and digital. What is the rationale behind the move?

From day one, our mission has been simple: unlock the potential of great brands. What has evolved is the scale at which we do it. We still have that same goal and operate with the same nimble, entrepreneurial mindset we had when we were a $100-million business. That’s critical to our success, and it’s not going away.

One of the biggest shifts for us has been doubling down on content, entertainment and live experiences. We’re activating our IP across sports, media, events and hospitality, not just traditional retail categories. Content drives commerce. When you create compelling content that resonates, the commercial opportunity follows naturally.

Super Bowl weekend is a great example: With Authentic House as our anchor, we hosted more than 11 events across San Francisco and welcomed over 30,000 attendees, including athletes, creators, celebrities, partners and industry leaders. In total, the events generated 300-million media impressions. That’s how we bring brands to life: by creating cultural moments that translate into real business impact.

We’re more globally minded than ever before. We’re driving towards a 50/50 split between domestic and international business. Today, we’re at about 60/40. Markets such as India are central to that strategy. Ten years ago, our focus was U.S.-centric. Today, we evaluate opportunities all over the globe, with a deep appreciation for local nuances, respect for culture, and long-term growth potential.

Before acquiring any brand, we ask the fundamental questions: how do we bring this brand to life beyond the product? Can it extend into entertainment, lifestyle, culture, and experiences? How can content push it to the next level? How do we make our partners better, stronger and faster? That’s why we prioritise brands with deep heritage, global relevance, and cultural equity — brands with a story to tell. And we’re not buying brands in isolation; we’re building an ecosystem. Each acquisition should strengthen the platform as a whole, creating new opportunities across categories, geographies and audiences.

You’ve positioned Authentic more than a licensor through Authentic Studios producing content such as Beckham docs, Shaq series, and Ali/Iverson projects, turning them into cross-brand promotions. How is the entertainment arm helping Authentic to connect culture and commerce?

Today, about 25% of our platform is entertainment. We see that share continuing to grow. No other traditional licensing company, outside of Disney, has built an entertainment engine at this scale. It’s our edge. We use storytelling through film, content, events and experiences to create emotional connection. It has to be compelling. If it doesn’t move people, the audience and customer will tune out or take their hard-earned money elsewhere.

A great example of our work in the entertainment space is the Beckham documentary. It created a huge cultural moment with more than 11-million views in the first 12 days and a two-week run at No. 1 on Netflix. That visibility elevated David’s brand portfolio and helped unlock new commercial opportunities, with his brand seeing a 25% increase in revenue since its release. We also have the Allen Iv3rson a three-part docuseries and The Greatest, the upcoming series centered around Muhammad Ali, both for Amazon Prime Video.

Entertainment isn’t just promotion; it is value creation. When you own the IP and the storytelling, you open entirely new revenue streams, and that’s where we’re continuing to invest.

How are you ensuring Authentic stays ahead of trends for younger consumers across a 50+ brand portfolio?

Our people are our greatest advantage. The median age at Authentic is 36, and our teams live inside a digital culture. They understand what’s happening in sports, music, gaming and social media because it’s part of their everyday lives. Across our portfolio, we reach nearly a billion social media followers, which is about 10% of the people that live on the planet. We’re on every platform around the globe, and we have social media influencers in 150 different languages. It means we can keep tabs on culture in real time. Combined with the breadth of our data, from retail performance to content engagement, we can spot trends early and act quickly. AI supercharges that capability, helping us analyse and respond in hours rather than weeks.

Partnerships such as the recent one with Kevin Hart (scaling his brand globally while he becomes a shareholder) reflect a strategy of aligning with visionary entrepreneurs. What does this mean for diversifying beyond traditional fashion and sports into broader entertainment and lifestyle?

The successes of our living legend partnerships speak for themselves. Shaq’s business is 10 times larger than when we partnered with him in 2015. David Beckham’s has doubled since 2022. That track record builds credibility and attracts other visionary entrepreneurs like Kevin Hart. When partners with genuine connections work with us, they become powerful ambassadors for our brands. Take Kevin Hart: he has a social media following of over 290 million across platforms — millions of people engage with him and value what he says and does. When he speaks about an Authentic brand or produces content around it, it carries credibility because he’s earned that trust over time. And at the end of the day, trust is the real currency in brand building.

Authentic’s asset-light, high-margin model has helped the business scale with predictable cash flows. What would it take to achieve $100 billion in sales without adding unnecessary complexity or capital intensity?

A big evolution is our focus on content and entertainment. Our success depends on aligning our team behind that vision, so we’re all running in the same direction. We produce great content through our Authentic Studios division, and we license IP to third-party studios. Both these paths allow us to scale while remaining asset light. For example, Elvis by Baz Luhrmann was a No. 1 box office hit and generated over $31 million in its opening weekend. Since its release, revenue tied to the Elvis brand has increased 60%. That’s incredible. AI gives our teams their time back so they can spend it on creative big-thinking and strategic work that moves the business forward. We’ve built our own in-house platform, Authentic Intelligence, on today’s most advanced AI models. Over 80% of our employees use it every week. Every team at Authentic has a use for it. Our business development team uses it to unlock new licensing opportunities. Our creative team uses it to generate and enhance their marketing content. It expands what our teams can do without adding layers of complexity, which allows us to grow faster while maintaining our asset-light model.

General Atlantic has been a key partner since 2017, with total investment hitting $2 billion. How has it shaped Authentic’s strategic growth, particularly in scaling from 30 acquisitions to a more diversified platform across media, entertainment, and experiences?

General Atlantic has been an exceptional partner. They’re incredibly selective about where they invest, and we’re incredibly selective about who we take capital from. We chose each other. And the follow-up investment shows conviction on both sides. They respected our DNA from day one and gave us the capital, perspective and global connectivity to scale thoughtfully. They let us keep doing what we do best, and we’ve continued to build that trust by giving them great returns.

You’ve previously said Authentic “doesn’t have to go public” and could explore alternatives such as a sale to a larger strategic player if the valuation makes sense. With the company now at approximately $38 billion in portfolio retail sales, and enjoying strong private multiples (around 18x Ebitda), how do you currently weigh those paths?

When weighing these paths, the question is: which path makes us stronger decades from now? We’re building a company that will last for generations. Disney has been around for 120 years. It was founded before anyone on this planet was even alive. It’s a cultural icon. Authentic will be the same. So whatever structure we choose has to support that kind of ambition and permanence. Our business now is the strongest it’s ever been. We have 95% cash conversion, 75% Ebitda margins, and we’ve traded over 9 billion in secondary sales over the past three years. We have no issues in liquidity for shareholders. We don’t need more outside capital to continue growing. That’s a luxury few companies have, and it means we don’t need to rush into any decision.

We’re big enough today to go public or get acquired. The only question is whether it accelerates what we’re building — the largest sports, media, entertainment and lifestyle platform in the world.

What are the key leadership lessons you have learnt in your journey and what is your philosophy towards wealth creation?

The most important leadership lesson is that, at the end of the day, it’s about the people. I always say “hire people smarter than you”. Authentic’s success comes down to the incredible brainpower and creativity of our teams. As far as wealth creation is concerned, if you focus on quality, the economics follow. Our path to $100 billion depends on creating compelling content, meaningful experiences and partnering with best-in-class licensees. If you focus on just the revenue, you’ll miss the point.