2025 Hall of Fame Inductee

STEVEN EKSTRACT, CEO & Chief Content Officer, entertainmentxtracks

Steven Ekstract is the Founder and Managing Director of Global Licensing Advisors, a boutique consultancy that advises and connects brands seeking to grow through licensing and strategic collaborations. In 2022, he launched X Tracks Licensing Summits, a series of executive-level conferences exploring the future of licensing and key areas of industry growth.

Prior to founding Global Licensing Advisors and X Tracks, Ekstract was the founding publisher of License Global magazine, the leading trade publication for the licensing industry, and oversaw a portfolio of media properties dedicated to brand licensing. He also served as Brand Director for the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets, where he provided strategic oversight and editorial direction for the company’s flagship Licensing Expos in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and China.

An internationally recognized voice in the licensing industry, Ekstract is a frequent speaker at global conferences and events. He is the co-author, with Stu Seltzer, of Brand Licensing For Dummies (Wiley), a practical guide offering a clear and accessible introduction to the licensing business. He also serves on the Trend Committee for Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg, the world’s largest toy fair.

Ekstract began his career as a documentary video producer at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., before transitioning into media and journalism. He held executive roles at Video Pro and Premiere magazines, and later ran the New York office of The Hollywood Reporter before founding License Global in 1998.

He is an alumnus of the United Nations International School in New York, American University in Washington, D.C., and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.