Authentic Brands Group Names Jessica Holscott as CFO
Authentic Brands Group has named Jessica Holscott as CFO. She replaces founding partner Kevin Clarke who will become executive vice chairman.
Holscott most recently served as EVP and CFO of studios and networks at Warner Media. Prior to that, she held leadership roles at HBO and GE Capital. She will report to Authentic’s founder, chairman and CEO Jamie Salter and focus on financial strategy and performance.
More from Footwear News
Authentic Brands Group's President Is a 'Big Believer' in Physical Stores -- and the Metaverse
Burberry Names Giorgio Belloli, Delphine Sonder to Newly-Created Roles
Salter said in a statement that Holscott’s “financial acumen, strategic mindset and operational experience will be a valuable asset” to Authentic as it continues to grow its brand portfolio.
Holscott’s experience in the entertainment industry bolsters Authentic’s growing entertainment business. In addition to being the company behind dozens of brand and retailer acquisitions such as Forever 21, Barneys New York, J.C. Penney, Reebok and Ted Baker, Authentic also owns the rights to the personal brands of Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O’Neal, Marilyn Monroe and David Beckham’s global brand as well as Sports Illustrated. Authentic unveiled a Sports Illustrated resort last year.
“We love this idea of combining entertainment and retail theater, in conjunction with all of our brands,” explained Authentic’s chief marketing officer Nick Woodhouse during a Tuesday session at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show this week. Woodhouse gave the recent example of Forever 21 launching an exclusive partnership with Virtual Brand Group, a metaverse creation company, to allow users to buy and sell Forever 21 merchandise and customize their own stores on the Roblox video game platform. This type of shopping experience combines ABG’s focus on retail as well as entertainment.
Describing Authentic as a “lifestyle entertainment platform,” Woodhouse said the company found a successful business model by partnering with “GOATS,” or people like O’Neal and Beckham who are the “greatest of all time” in their respective lanes. These entertainment partnerships also fuel the company’s lifestyle business as well and allows for synergies between the different brands and figureheads in Authentic’s portfolio.
Though it considered going public in 2021, Authentic is a privately held company. In November 2021, Authentic secured a set of major investments that valued the company at $12.7 billion.
Sign up for FN's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
