The founder of Authentic Brands Group, a management company that controls dozens of retail and media names including Reebok, Champion and Brooks Brothers, said he plans to take the company public within the next 12 months, consistent with previous announcements. Wynn Resorts The CEO becomes the next chief executive officer.
In an exclusive interview with CNBC’s Sarah Eisen, Jamie Salter said Matt Maddox, who joined Authentic as president in January 2025 after a 20-year career at Wynn, will become CEO, allowing Salter to transition to executive chairman.
Asked if this meant the company was headed for an initial public offering, Salter said he expected the company to go public “within the next 12 months.”
“There’s no question that Matt is, without a doubt, a great CEO on Wall Street,” Salter said. “We came close to going public twice, filed twice, and both times were acquired by other private equity firms at much higher prices. This time the company has grown so much that this time we will probably go public within the next 12 months.”
Salter said the transition is necessary as he seeks to grow Authentic into a $100 billion company over the next five years, requiring him to focus “100% of my time” on mergers and acquisitions, which have formed the lifeblood of the business for years.
Authentic said in a news release that Salter will remain “deeply involved in the business” in his new role, but will focus on long-term strategy. Mr. Maddox will lead day-to-day operations with a mission to scale the business, drive organic growth, and create value for the company’s “shareholders and partners.”
“The opportunities ahead are significant, and we are just getting started,” Maddox added in the release.
(LR) Jamie Salter and Matt Maddox attend the Michael Rubin REFORM Alliance Casino Night event in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 13, 2025.
Arturo Holmes | Getty Images
Authentic, which generates approximately $38 billion in systemwide retail sales and is a major force in the retail industry, is known for buying the intellectual property behind popular brands that are failing or bankrupt and licensing that IP for hefty royalties.
The company has more than 50 brands in its portfolio, including Sports Illustrated, Guess, and Juicy Couture, and has partnered with celebrities such as Shaquille O’Neal, David Beckham, and Kevin Hart.
For years, Authentic has been focused almost entirely on apparel retail, but Salter recently said the company has been looking to acquire entertainment companies, which are currently the “driving force” of the business.
“Today, entertainment makes up about 20% of our business and beauty and lifestyle 80%, but we believe that over time entertainment will become even stronger, from 20% to 50%,” Salter said. “The reason I want to focus so much on the entertainment business is because content clearly drives commerce.”
Authentic has signaled for years that it was ready to go public, most recently during the Reuters Momentum AI event in April, when Salter said the company would attempt a new IPO “soon.”
He added that he plans to take on leadership positions other than CEO once the company is ready to file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
That moment appears to have arrived, with Maddox appointed CEO and Salter appointed executive chairman.
Mr. Salter, who has spent decades in the consumer and retail industries, is a seasoned investor and dealmaker, but he is less experienced than Maddox in the knowledge required to run a publicly traded company. According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr. Maddox spent nearly 15 years in executive leadership roles as CFO, president, and CEO while at Wynn, a Nasdaq company with a market capitalization of nearly $10 billion.
When approaching an IPO, companies often choose leaders with extensive management experience, especially when the company’s founder is the company’s founder.
