- New appointment reflects the agency’s long-term commitment to innovation, with Walters spearheading the agency’s investment in and exploration of emerging technologies, strategic partnerships, and new market trends
- New role follows a year of rapid growth for Billion Dollar Boy, which recorded a 49% annual increase in turnover
London, UK, June 11, 2025 – Global creator-first social agency, Billion Dollar Boy, today announces Thomas Walters as Group Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) as part of a strategic restructuring of its senior leadership team to support the next phase of the agency’s global growth.
Thomas Walters
In this newly created role, Walters leads Billion Dollar Boy Group’s innovation strategy: identifying and implementing new technologies, strategic partnerships, and operational models that help brands scale creator marketing with greater precision, efficiency, and impact.
Walters’s new remit includes exploring emerging market trends from AI tools and creator infrastructure to new monetisation models and platform developments, with a focus on converting experimentation into enterprise value and competitive advantage – both for clients and for Billion Dollar Boy itself.
The creation of the CIO role directly addresses an increase in demand from clients for further sustainable innovation and even greater measurable impact. Walters will work closely with leadership across regions globally, and the Group’s existing business units Billion Dollar Boy, Companion, and FiveTwoNine, to identify new growth opportunities – whether piloting new content formats, driving product innovation, or forging strategic partnerships that move the industry forward.
Walters co-founded Billion Dollar Boy in 2014 and has been instrumental to its global success. Under his leadership as Europe CEO since 2022, the agency has experienced rapid growth including a 49% annual increase in turnover during the last financial year – earning Billion Dollar Boy recognition as the only creator marketing agency in the ‘FT 1000: Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies’ for a fifth consecutive year.
During his tenure, the business has delivered standout campaigns for leading global brands, including Heineken, King, Unilever and PepsiCo – culminating in a Cannes Lions award win and a 52% increase in creator spend across 42 markets.
He has also overseen the launch and growth of a number of high-impact, product and service innovations for clients, including:
- Companion, Billion Dollar Boy’s AI-powered influencer vetting and campaign measurement platform.
- Muse, the agency’s dedicated innovation unit, which explores emerging technologies and has delivered award-winning generative AI campaigns for brands including Versace and Loewe.
Thomas Walters, Group CIO and Co-Founder of Billion Dollar Boy, comments: “The advertising industry is undergoing a radical shift – driven by emerging technologies, the evolving expectations of modern consumers and the broadening influence of creators. The creation of this role and focus reflects both the increasing scale of creator marketing and the growing need for deeper operational rigour, smarter data application, and stronger cross-platform integration.
“With many brands reassessing legacy advertising models and searching for more agile, effective approaches, Billion Dollar Boy’s long-term commitment to innovation ensures we’re equipped to help clients not just adapt to this change, but lead through it.
“As an independent agency, we have the freedom to experiment, evolve and invest where it matters most. With a strengthened leadership team and the continued expansion of pioneering initiatives like Companion, FiveTwoNine and Muse, we’re building a future-ready agency that’s not only prepared for what’s next – but actively shaping it.”
About Billion Dollar Boy
Billion Dollar Boy (BDB) is a global, creator-first social agency delivering award-winning, integrated influencer marketing campaigns.
Since 2014, BDB has partnered with some of the world’s most iconic brands – including Heineken, Nike, Unilever, PepsiCo, and L’Oréal – to deliver best-in-class, creator-led advertising at scale. Powered by proprietary, AI-powered technology and data-driven insights, our end-to-end campaign management spans strategy, creative, production, paid media, and execution.
Our client work has been awarded by Cannes Lions, the Global Influencer Marketing Awards, the Drum, Webby Awards, and Shorty Awards.
In 2025, Billion Dollar Boy was named Social Media Agency of the Year at the Global Agency Awards and was featured in the Financial Times’ list of the 1000 fastest-growing companies in Europe for a record fifth consecutive year.