Apollo Global Management’s Business Model Transformation

Apollo Global Management has transformed itself from a traditional private equity giant into an insurance-fueled credit powerhouse—thanks to its acquisition of life annuity issuer Athene. CEO Marc Rowan makes a bold bet that an asset-heavy model, which is backed by hundreds of billions in long-term insurance liabilities, can drive repeatable, superior returns and propel Apollo’s assets under management to $1.5 trillion. However, public markets award Apollo a multitude on its earnings that is far lower than asset-light peers like Blackstone, which highlights important trade-offs. Harvard Business School professor George Serafeim joins host Brian Kenny to discuss the questions raised by the case, Apollo Global Management, and explore what Apollo’s transformation reveals about business-model innovation and risk management in today’s rapidly evolving private markets ecosystem, and what it means to be a modern investment firm.

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Apollo Global Management’s Business Model Transformation is an episode from Cold Call by Harvard Business School by HBR Presents / Brian Kenny.

This episode is 29:16 long.

This episode was published on Nov 11, 2025.

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