Dom Smales Keynote Speaker

Founder of Gleam Futures, the first creator management agency in Europe
Entrepreneur behind some of the creator economy's biggest success stories, including Zoella, Joe Sugg and Mrs Hinch
Chair of the Digital Creator Association

Dom Smales's Biography

Dom Smales founded Gleam Futures in 2010, the first creator management agency in Europe and the business widely credited with inventing influencer marketing in the UK. He built it from a coffee shop in Hertfordshire, before the word influencer existed, into a global company with offices in London, Los Angeles and Sydney and a roster of over fifty creators.

His first signing was Sam and Nicola Chapman, the make-up artist sisters behind the YouTube channel Pixiwoo, who had 20,000 subscribers at the time. From there Gleam built the original Brit Crew, including Zoella, Joe Sugg, Tanya Burr, Grace Beverley and Mrs Hinch, and reshaped publishing, beauty, live events and entertainment along the way.

Under Dom‘s leadership Gleam published the fastest-selling debut novel ever recorded in the UK, the fastest-selling graphic novel in British history, and sixteen consecutive number one Times bestsellers. It launched Real Techniques and Zoella Beauty, produced the first feature film made for BBC Worldwide by a talent agency, and brokered partnerships with Apple, Amazon and Mango.

In 2017 Dom sold a majority stake in Gleam to Dentsu, completing his exit in 2021. He now co-founds, invests in and advises the next generation of creator economy businesses, including GloMotion Studios and WinnieWood, and chairs the Digital Creator Association.

His argument is simple. The next decade will not be won by reach. It will be won by trust, ownership and IP. He built the industry once. Now he is making the case for what should be built next.

Before the Algorithm, There Was the Audience

A conference keynote.

The origin story of influence, told by someone who was there before it had a name. Why the creators and brands who built genuine audiences before the tools existed still outperform everyone who came after, what the influencer era got right and got badly wrong, and why the next decade belongs to whoever owns the relationship rather than the reach.

Billions Spent on Zero Trust: Why Reach Is Not an Asset - the end of organic reach in social media.

For CMO forums, brand summits and marketing audiences.

Brands confused access with ownership and reach with trust, and spent a fortune doing it. Drawing on a decade of building creator businesses from the inside, Dom makes the case for why impressions were never the point, and what actually earns consumer trust in a market that has stopped believing the metrics.

I Signed a Cleaner and She Outsold the Prime Minister

An after-dinner talk.

The Mrs Hinch story, and what it reveals about trust that cannot be manufactured. Backing the right people before the world catches up, founding Europe's first creator agency in a coffee shop, and the story of its biggest creators and the secret to their success.

He helps organisations harness the power of the creator economy, showing leaders how trust, influence and intellectual property are reshaping marketing, media and brand growth.
He translates his experience building Gleam Futures and working with creators including Zoella, Joe Sugg, Tanya Burr, Grace Beverley, Mrs Hinch, Sam and Nicola Chapman (Pixiwoo) into practical strategies for audience engagement, brand building and digital innovation.
As the founder of Gleam Futures, he pioneered influencer management in Europe, launched creator-led brands and partnerships with companies including Apple, Amazon and Mango, and helped redefine the relationship between creators and business.
His engaging keynotes equip audiences with practical insights into the future of the creator economy, demonstrating why trust, ownership and intellectual property will define the next generation of brands and businesses.