As players from the media and marketing worlds gathered in the south of France for the 2025 Cannes Lions conference, brands jockeying for visibility can be found up and down the Croissette where hosted “beaches” draw both networkers and revelers. Offshore, however, are the ultra-exclusive events — among them: The Hollywood Reporter’s Wednesday afternoon Marketing Power Players event.
Held on the gargantuan Kismet yacht, owned by the Khan family, whose sports assets include the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, English Premier league club Fulham F.C. and All Elite Wrestling, the guest list included Activist Artists Management co-founder Bernie Cahill; Activate founder and CEO Michael J. Wolf; Marcie Allen, president of Anzie Blue; Rare Beauty CMO Katie Welch; YouTube co-head creators and gaming Kim Larson; Dhar Mann Studios CEO Sean Atkins; The Macallan head of brand Sergio Cabello and THR top marketers 2025 list members Bianca Franklin, global business developer, music at H&M, and Universal Music Group executive vp, global brand partnerships Kerri Mackar.
Other guests included Group Black CEO Bonin Bough, Official AI founder and CEO David Siegfried, GK Ventures CEO Greg Kahn; All& co-CEO Jennifer Breithaupt and TikTok entertainment partnerships head Jenny Kim.
James Blake, the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter, performed two songs, including his latest, “Séance,” from the soundtrack to Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which he co-wrote with two-time Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson, who scored the movie and was also at Cannes Lions, serving as a featured speaker at Spotify’s beachside headquarters.
“I leaned into the metaphysical love relationship between the two main characters, not the vampires,” said Blake, who also attended Cannes Lions as an official speaker, of the song, which was written before he saw the movie. “It was actually quite spooky when I saw it, I could understand how it felt so pertinent to what I was writing about it.”
James Blake performing.
Casey Culver
Blake shared the spotlight with singer Monica Martin for one of her tunes, the wistful “Go Easy, Kid.” Their harmonies, coupled with Blake’s accompaniment, elicited enthusiastic applause from the intimate audience. Blake’s partner, the actress Jameela Jamil, was also in attendance. Ahead of production on a new Ron Howard movie, she was promoting her podcast, Wrong Turns. Blake, meanwhile, has a new album coming out in October.
But as much as the people were impressive — Tony Khan serves as founder, CEO, general manager and head of creative of AEW, the third-most valuable combat sports league in the world (behind UFC and WWE) — all eyes were on the details of this massive marvel at sea which was meticulously designed by Shad Khan, owner of the Jaguars, Fulham F.C., AEW and Flex-N-Gate. The eight-story superyacht features a pool, an underwater theater, a helipad, multiple bars and dining areas and designer furnishings in each of its well apportioned guest suites.
James Blake and Jameela Jamil in the underwater theater on the Kismet yacht.
Casey Culver
The father-son team was aglow in the success of AEW, which recently inked an extension with Warner Bros. Discovery that will keep its popular Wednesday Night Dynamite and Saturday Night Collision on TBS and TNT, respectively. “Over six years, as things have evolved and entertainment has changed, we’ve been a staple of cable and continue to be a huge staple of TBS, which is a channel that’s had wrestling in its lineup since the 1970s,” said Tony Khan. The numbers whiz name-checked CEO David Zaslav and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, along with WBD chief revenue and strategy officer Bruce Campbell, for being “key supporters.” And while AEW’s partnership with WBD has seen as many leadership changes in the six years they’ve collaborated, Khan added, “We’ve come out stronger and stronger under the leadership of Warner Bros. Discovery. And now to be on such a prestigious platform as Max, that’s a huge expansion for AEW to reach a new audience or even reconnect with fans that maybe cut the cord and didn’t have access to TBS and TNT anymore.”
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) CEO Tony Khan.
Courtesy of All Elite Wrestling
Internationally, AEW has also become destination viewing on ITV, another network with a tradition of wrestling. “We’ve been able to build that great linear audience and become the most-watched TV company of all wrestling with the biggest attendance,” said Khan. “By most of the key metrics, AEW is the no. 1 wrestling company in the UK.”
No doubt the Khans are moving in super exclusive circles. Aboard the Kismet the evening before were several major players in entertainment and beyond, including agency and Olympics 2028 head Casey Wasserman, Fox Corp. CEO Rob Wade and former NBA stars Dirk Nowitzki and Blake Griffin.
With AEW currently valued at $2 billion, it looks as if the son is following in the steps of his self-made father and at the same time expanding the empire. The younger Khan was heading to Mexico for AEW’s first event in the country, which took place on June 18, and he’s also pushing his roster’s brand extension to TV and film. Pro wrestler MJF, for instance, will appear in Happy Gilmore 2, the sequel to a movie he saw in the theater as a kid.
“Wrestling is the only 52 weeks-a-year sport,” adds Khan. “It’s a never-ending tour of all different cities and places. It’s cool. I never stop.”
PMC’s senior vp, operations and finance Jerry Ruiz; Monica Martin; THR‘s vp events and talent relations Curtis Thompson; THR‘s senior vp, sales and brand strategy Liz Culley; Shad Khan; Jameela Jamil; THR co-editor-in-chief Shirley Halperin; James Blake; and THR publisher Lori O’Connor
Casey Culver
