Amir Esmailian & Wassim Slaiby Named 2026 Impact 50 Honorees

AMIR “CASH” ESMAILIAN Founder, YCFU Co-Founder, XO

WASSIM “SAL” SLAIBY Founder, SALXCO & UAM Co-Founder, XO

FAV MUSIC VENUE: “I’ve got to say the Rogers Centre in Toronto, formerly known as the SkyDome. On a summer night with the dome open and the city skyline as the backdrop, I feel like there is no other show and venue like it.” – Amir Esmailian

BY THE NUMBER: $1+ billion. What Slaiby and Esmailian’s biggest client, The Weeknd, will gross on his “After Hours Til Dawn Tour.” That gross makes him the only male solo artist to achieve such a milestone, and he’s one of three acts—the others being Taylor Swift and Coldplay—to have a tour surpass the billion-dollar mark.

When an artist’s vision and ambition genuinely align with their manager’s, it tends to lead to something special. The Weeknd recently accomplished one of those special feats, moving more than 3 million tickets in 2026 alone, with upcoming shows in Europe and Asia, and etching his name in music history as one of the most successful solo road acts of all time.

Thankfully for The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye, co-managers Wassim “Sal” Slaiby and Amir “Cash” Esmailian are on the same page as he is, sharing his ambition and passion in delivering a unique, standout concert experience to fans across the globe.

The Canadian megastar’s “After Hours Til Dawn Stadium Tour” has shattered records in nearly every market and has grossed over $440 million this year, with shows selling out during the onsale, according to Live Nation.

And there’s no stopping The Weeknd. He just kicked off the European and U.K. leg of his trek, which comes to an end later this year in Asia after four years on the road.

“For the rest of 2026, we have tunnel vision on completing this massive global stadium tour with Abel,” Esmailian, who co-founded XO management and has his own management company YCFU (You Can’t Finagle Us), tells Pollstar . “We are really excited to end this tour in Asia, as it’s always been a special place for Abel. It’s going to be amazing to see all the fans around Asia and playing these stadiums there for the first time.”

The Weeknd, Slaiby and Esmailian have experienced plenty of firsts since 2022. The singer achieved Starboy status by ascending to stadiums for the first time with his “After Hours Til Dawn” trek, which has surpassed $1 billion in grosses. Such a milestone has only been accomplished by Taylor Swift and Coldplay, which makes The Weeknd’s tour the highest-grossing by a male solo star.

He ranked No. 6 on Pollstar ’s 2025 Year End Top 200 Tours Worldwide chart with a whopping gross of $306,255,590 off 2,005,301 tickets, and he’ll likely finish among the top of this year’s chart when he concludes his tour.

“The Weeknd continues to redefine what it means to be a global touring artist,” Omar Al-joulani, Live Nation’s president of touring, said last November. “Crossing the billion-dollar mark is a testament to his staying power and the incredible demand for his live show. Year after year, he sells out stadiums around the world, and the ‘After Hours Til Dawn Tour’ now stands as one of the biggest of all time — a true reflection of his artistry and impact.”

It’s also a testament to his co-managers’ ingenuity to help the artist realize his vision, regardless of the medium. Slaiby and Esmailian have stood behind their artist every step of the way, giving him the space to experiment in other mediums (including television, a studio film and a concert movie on HBO Max) and encouraging the artist to express himself however he can to expand his reach—akin to the wrestlers in the WWE whose persona grows beyond the squared circle and explore other outlets to grow as performers and their brand.

Esmailian would know. He told Pollstar that watching the WWE keeps him sane outside of his busy work schedule, and the strategies behind the personalities of the popular sports entertainment brand may have influenced him as a manager. His mantra, “Commit to your vision, and see it all the way through,” can only be adhered to if everyone else around him shares it. He and Slaiby had a lot of work cut out for them in orchestrating a massive production like that of “After Hours Til Dawn” is a herculean task for the road crew, but Tesfaye’s team pushed on and managed to map out a four-year tour without many hiccups that will go down in the record books as a trek that helped set a new standard and new normal in the live entertainment business.

“Just it being a live show, anything can happen from bad weather to issues with production,” Esmailian says. “It’s important to have a great team on the road that is experienced, trustworthy and can also handle pressure without panicking.”

With only six months left in 2026, the end of The Weeknd’s run is rapidly approaching. What’s next for the superstar? How does one build off one of the most ambitious and successful treks of all time? It’s unclear, but with Slaiby and Esmailian behind him, The Weeknd will likely ascend to an even higher level, beyond Starboy, and continue to redefine the modern global touring artist.

Pollstar’s 2026 Impact 50 Hub

_Originally reported by [Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/06/22/2026-impact-50-honoree-amir-cash-esmailian-wassim-sal-slaiby/)._