Billion Dollar Boy is a global creator and influencer marketing agency founded in London in 2014 by Edward East, Thomas Walters and Permele Doyle. On October 27, 2026, its parent BDB Group launched The Impact List, an annual award honoring 60 US and UK creators, with OnePay as inaugural sponsor. The agency has offices in London, New York and New Orleans and serves brands including Heineken, L'Oréal, PepsiCo, Nintendo, Burberry and Versace.
Company Info
- Founded: 2014, in London, by Edward East, Thomas Walters and Permele Doyle
- Offices: London, New York (135 Madison Avenue), New Orleans
- Leadership: Edward East (Global CEO), Permele Doyle (President, US), Thomas Walters (CSO), Becky Owen (Global CMO and Global Head of FiveTwoNine)
- Ownership: Independent, privately held
- Employees: Approximately 100 to 200 globally, 51 to 100 in the US (per the AAAA agency registry)
- Notable Clients: Heineken, L'Oréal, PepsiCo, Nintendo, Versace, Burberry
- Last verified: October 28, 2026 (Impact List announcement of October 27, 2026)
Updated October 28, 2026.
What is The Impact List?
The Impact List is an annual creator award and growth program launched on October 27, 2026 by Billion Dollar Boy Group and FiveTwoNine, its creator community, honoring 60 creators in the United States and United Kingdom. It has six categories with 10 winners each, split across the two countries, according to the company's announcement.
| Category | What it recognizes | Standout winner | All winners |
|---|
| Creative Visionaries | Craft and creativity: originality, storytelling and execution | Alessandro Marfella | Alessandro Marfella, Caroline Klidonas, Charlie Engelman, Chrystal King, Cogey, Keith Afadi, Miranda Sanchez, Natasha Polozenko, Rebekah Nkirote M'ithinji, Rich McCor (Paperboyo) |
| Creator Entrepreneurs | Business and entrepreneurship: influence turned into sustainable businesses | Ashley Alexander | Anela Malik, Ashley Alexander, DonYé Taylor, Erim Kaur, Jono Yates (Only Scrans), Lamide Elizabeth, Maddie Borge, Mia Rose McGrath, Nana Del Rey, Natalie Barbu |
| Community Builders | Deep connection: engaged communities beyond social media | Emily Paloma Sanchez | Ali Soufan, Chika Uwazie, Davie Rickenbacker, Devana Turner, Emily Paloma Sanchez, Gabriel Nussbaum, Mercedes Benson, Millie Gooch, Nabila Ismail, Ryan Lloyd Haynes |
| Changemakers | Values and impact: using influence to educate and advocate | Ben West | Ben West, Danielle Udogaranya, Elizabeth Idowu (Mamadinya), Ellie Middleton, Jacquelyn J. Revere, Jerry Zeng, Liv Stone, Lynn Shabinsky, Shannon Beveridge, Zak Heath |
| Creators to Watch | Emerging talent: early-stage creators with momentum | Tatiana DeSouza | Alice Benham, Ana Cordera, Hannah Ngakane, Ivy Mullins, Jayde Powell, Maya Culin, Nancy Baker, Rosette Ale, Tatiana DeSouza, Verity Park |
| Brand Partners | Commercial craft and partnership excellence | Keenan Lam | Bec & Sam Bartley, Cale Brown, Gracie J, Keenan Lam, Maximilian Chester, Max Kolo, Meghan Mai, Milky Tran, Shell Rowe, Theo Shakes |
OnePay, a consumer fintech company, is the inaugural sponsor and backs the Creator Entrepreneurs category with a $5,000 cash grant for the standout creator. All winners receive FiveTwoNine resources and programming, introductions to decision-makers, and a place in the first Impact List editorial magazine.
Winners will be honored at galas organized by BDB Group in New York City on November 4 at Chez Zou and in London on November 10 at Dartmouth House in Mayfair. The announcement calls these The Impact List 2027 Galas.
Becky Owen, Global Head of FiveTwoNine and Global CMO of Billion Dollar Boy, said in the announcement that most lists go to the same top 1% of creators, while The Impact List looks at the impact creators already have in their space. Jessica Williams, chief marketing officer of OnePay, said creators are among the fastest-growing entrepreneurs in the economy.
Who judged The Impact List?
An independent jury of 11 senior creator-economy figures reviewed the applications, according to BDB Group. The announcement says the process was merit-based, weighing originality, creativity, ambition and entrepreneurial potential.
- Mazviona Madzima, Senior Strategic Partner Manager, YouTube
- Madolyn Grove, Content Acquisition Director, Global Studios, previously Head of Creators, TikTok
- Jarell Perry, Senior Director, Brand Partnerships and Creator Marketing, Tumblr
- Lina Renzina, Head of Top Creator Management, Patreon
- Charlotte Sparks, Community Marketing Lead, EMEA, Adobe
- Sami Qasem, Director of Creator and Content Partnerships, Tubi
- Loraine Frimpong, Social First and Creator Lead, The Magnum Ice Cream Company
- Victoire Binet, Head of Marketing Europe, Lipton Ice Tea Europe
- Sebastian Oddo, Global Vice President of Innovation, Mastercard
- Marie-Laure De Veyt, Retail Influencer and Innovation Marketing Lead, Microsoft
- Grace Andrews, Creator Entrepreneur and Founder of The Social Climber
What is The Creator Fund?
The Creator Fund is a Billion Dollar Boy Group program, launched two years ago, that pays for creators to attend major industry events. According to the announcement, 40 creators received access to Cannes Lions across 2025 and 2026, and the fund also covered CreatorFest Europe, Art Basel Miami and local New York creator community events. The Impact List is the latest extension of that investment in creators.
The Business
Billion Dollar Boy is a privately held company founded in London in 2014. It operates offices in London, New York, and New Orleans, with the New York office at 135 Madison Avenue. Headcount is approximately 100 to 200 employees globally, with 51 to 100 in the US according to the AAAA agency registry.
The founder-led structure remains intact more than a decade after founding. Ed East, Global CEO and co-founder, relocated from London to New York on February 28, 2023 to focus on scaling the US business alongside Permele Doyle, President and co-founder. The relocation followed a period in which US revenue grew approximately 100% year-over-year and regional EBITDA increased 99%. Globally, the agency says it has grown at an average annual rate of approximately 40% over the last four years.
Billion Dollar Boy has grown as an independent, cash-generative business without a full institutional venture-capital track. Other influencer agencies have been acquired recently, including Whalar (merged with Sixteenth), Ubiquitous (acquired by Humanz) and Digital Voices (acquired by PMG).
BDB Group, the parent, has three businesses: Billion Dollar Boy, the social agency with Creator Instinct®; FiveTwoNine, the global platform and local community for creator entrepreneurs; and Companion, its proprietary AI-powered influencer marketing platform. In October 2026 the group also named a five-member advisory board and forecast global revenue above $100 million for 2027, as covered in our Billion Dollar Boy advisory board report.
The Operators
Edward East (Ed East) is Founder and Global CEO, now based in New York after the February 2023 relocation from London. East started Billion Dollar Boy after an early career that included time at DigitasLBi (2011 to 2012) and Exclusive Media (2012 to 2014), which was owned by his film-producer father Guy East. He built and sold a YouTube content-management business (Lasso Group, sold to Vintage House) and used proceeds to fund Billion Dollar Boy's growth. He was 25 at founding.
Permele Doyle is Co-founder and President, US. Formerly of Tom Ford Beauty, she led Billion Dollar Boy's US expansion starting from the November 2015 New York office launch.
Thomas Walters is Co-founder and CSO (Chief Strategy Officer), the third of the three-friend founding team.
Becky Owen is Global CMO of Billion Dollar Boy and Global Head of FiveTwoNine, the creator community behind The Impact List.
How Billion Dollar Boy Makes Money
Billion Dollar Boy operates as a full-service creative agency for the influencer economy, on a fee-for-service and campaign-management model rather than as a marketplace or SaaS platform.
Campaign management fees. Brand clients pay fees for end-to-end campaign management: strategy, creator selection and negotiation, content brief development, production oversight, paid amplification, and reporting.
Creator-led production. In-house creative teams develop the strategic and production layer of creator campaigns.
Paid social integration. Paid amplification of creator content across Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and adjacent platforms is a growing share of client budget.
Proprietary technology. StoryTracker and adjacent proprietary tools support the campaign-management stack and are used for the agency's own operations rather than licensed as a standalone product.
Who Uses It
Luxury and prestige beauty. Versace, Burberry, L'Oréal, and adjacent luxury and beauty brands.
Consumer packaged goods. PepsiCo, Heineken, and adjacent CPG brands run creator programs through the agency.
Gaming and entertainment. Nintendo, King, and adjacent gaming publishers run creator campaigns tied to game launches and seasonal content.
Automotive and lifestyle. Ford and adjacent lifestyle brands have used the agency. The men's-interest vertical the agency originally specialized in (fashion, grooming, automotive, hobbies, travel, gaming, technology) has broadened as the business scaled.
Category Context
Whalar Group (founded by Neil Waller and James Street, London and New York) merged with Sixteenth in 2024 to form a larger creator agency and talent management group. See the Whalar profile.
Digital Voices (founded 2017 by Jennifer Quigley-Jones, London, New York and Costa Rica) was acquired by PMG in January 2026. See its EPR profile.
Ubiquitous (founded 2021 in Chattanooga by Alex Elsea, Jess Flack, Brandon Gambucci) was acquired by Humanz in December 2025. See its EPR profile.
Jellysmack, CreatorIQ, Aspire, Open Influence, and Upfluence occupy adjacent segments of the category, spanning platform and technology, agency services, and talent management.
Digital Voices founder Jennifer Quigley-Jones observed publicly following the sale to PMG that the window for independent creative-first influencer agencies to grow is narrowing. Billion Dollar Boy's response has been to build the BDB Group in-house rather than sell into an external holding structure.
