Paul Wachter

Paul D. Wachter is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MSA.

Since founding MSA in 1997, Paul has led financial and business strategy for many of the most prominent individuals and transactions across media, music, entertainment, and sports. He advised Arnold Schwarzenegger during both of his terms as Governor of California, negotiated LeBron James’ lifetime agreement with Nike, built Beats Electronics and Beats Music alongside Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, served as lead negotiator on Beats sale to Apple, and advised Fenway Sports Group on its formation and continued growth, including during Redbird Capital Management’s $750 million investment and LeBron James’ ownership transaction.

Paul has also been at the forefront of incubating and investing in culture-shifting brands, including Beats, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Billie Eilish Fragrances, Defiant Ones LLC (Gin & Juice/Still G.I.N.), NTWRK (now Complex), Lobos 1707, Blaze Pizza, The SpringHill Company (now Fulwell Entertainment), Violet St, and more.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of United Talent Agency (Chairman), Content Partners, Complex, the Iovine Young Academy at USC, Fulwell Entertainment, Lobos 1707, The Defiant Ones LLC (Gin & Juice/Still G.I.N.), Violet St, Berklee College of Music (Board of Trustees), Apollo Aligned Alternatives, and UnitedMasters/Translation.

Previously, Paul served on the boards of Time Warner Inc., Virgin America, American Skiing Company, and Beats Electronics & Beats Music. He was also a Regent of the University of California from 2004 - 2016, where he chaired both the Investment and Governance Committees.

Prior to forming MSA, Paul was Managing Director and Head of Schroder & Co. Incorporated’s Lodging and Gaming Group, its Sports and Leisure Group and its West Coast Investment Banking efforts. Prior to that, Paul was Managing Director at Kidder Peabody, where he founded and was responsible for Kidder’s Hotel, Resorts and Leisure Group as well as its Real Estate and Investment Banking groups. Prior to that, he worked at Bear Stearns and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Paul also clerked for Judge Dorothy W. Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Paul is a 1981 graduate of Columbia Law School, where he was a James Kent Scholar and a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He graduated magna cum laude and Beta Gamma Sigma from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1978. Paul is a member of the New York State Bar.