During a year in which demon hunters dominated, Goose and Geese both flew high and a British breakout earned a best new artist nod — among other major milestones on and off the Billboard charts — these managers helped guide their artists, songwriters and producers through their biggest wins to date.
Aaron Tropf
Age: 30
Company: Tropf Management
Key clients: REI AMI, Ryan Librada, Marilyncarissa
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After watching a PBS documentary on David Geffen, Tropf dropped out of college and moved from his Idaho hometown to Los Angeles in 2015. Through an internship at CAA, Tropf gained experience working across film, TV, music, dance and social media and soon enough founded his own firm. Client REI AMI — the singing voice of HUNTR/X’s Zoey from KPop Demon Hunters — had a particularly stellar year, as the film’s “Golden” topped the Billboard Hot 100 and scored REI AMI her first Grammy nomination for best pop duo/group performance. What Tropf is most proud of, though, is seeing REI AMI “as happy and healthy as she is.”
Autumn Ledgin
Age: 29
Company: Ledgin Management
Key client: Tucker Wetmore
At the start of 2025, Ledgin launched her own firm (with Red Light Management as a strategic partner) — and is proud to say she and her team “clos[ed] the year with more momentum than we began it with.” Working across artist management, A&R and artist development has benefited Ledgin’s flagship artist, country breakout Tucker Wetmore, with whom she has worked since 2023. He has since charted four songs on the Hot 100, while his 2025 debut full-length, What Not To, reached No. 4 on Top Country Albums. And while Wetmore’s ascent has been steady, Ledgin stresses the importance of “balancing the industry and fan expectation for constant visibility with protecting the artist’s creativity and well-being.”
Ben Baruch
Age: 45
Company: 11e1even Group
Key clients: Goose, Big Gigantic, Cory Wong, Madilyn Mei, The Disco Biscuits, The Stews, The Oh Hellos, Oteil Burbridge, Ripe, Mihali
After meeting Big Gigantic while working as the talent buyer at the Fox Theater in Pomona, Calif., Baruch soon became the duo’s manager. The act remained his sole client for three years: “I loved helping them shape their career, strategize about the future and get to use a really creative part of my brain,” he says. In 2009, he launched his full-service entertainment group and 10 years later, the company signed jam band Goose to its roster. In 2025, the group’s fourth album, Everything Must Go, became its best-charting project to date, peaking at No. 6 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart — and in June, Goose sold out its first show at Madison Square Garden in New York. “It was definitely a bucket list moment,” says Baruch, who plans on it being the first of many more to come. “So much of our responsibility is to create space, structure and healthy boundaries so artists can actually do their best work, sustain long-lasting careers and avoid burning out.”
Beniam “Hanz” Hannes
Age: 27
Company: Hanzondeck
Key client: Odeal
“I came into management through an unconventional route,” says Hannes, who previously worked in engineering. He says the field trained him “to think structurally and problem-solve at a high level. That mindset translated naturally into artist development.” Such skills have benefited rising British Nigerian singer Odeal, who in 2025 won best newcomer and best R&B/soul act at the Music of Black Origin Awards and closed the year by signing a worldwide deal with Sony Music Publishing. For Hannes, it was Odeal’s fall tour that “marked a clear turning point. … It’s a run we’ll look back on as a defining chapter in his career.”
Deker Daily
Age: 32
Company: Mixed Management
Key clients: Dijon, Mk.gee, RL Grime
After interning at music publicity firm Orienteer, Daily wanted to work closer with talent. Orienteer founder Nick Dierl introduced him to Mixed Management and Daily has since racked up eight years at the company where he says he has “risen through the ranks.” As a day-to-day manager, “every day is different,” says Daily, who in the last 12 months celebrated both Mk.gee and Dijon making their Saturday Night Live musical debuts, with the latter also scoring his first Grammy nominations for producer of the year, non-classical and album of the year for his contributions to Justin Bieber’s SWAG. “[It] was an incredibly gratifying moment in what has felt like a generational year for Dijon.”
Diego “Dakis” León Vélez Márquez
Age: 40
Company: Dakismusic
Key client: Beéle
While Vélez Márquez believes the biggest challenge for managers today is to “have a clear strategy and clear goals and be able to put them into practice,” he has proved he can do just that. His pre-management experience as a promoter came in handy: Last year, Colombian singer Beéle became the first artist to sell out eight shows in a single year at Movistar Arena in Bogotá, Colombia, as part of his 2025 Borondo tour. His debut album of the same name debuted at No. 10 on Top Latin Albums and No. 4 on Top Latin Rhythm Albums upon its May release.
Eli Bieber
Age: 29
Company: Noted Management
Key clients: Disco Lines, nimino, wes mills
“Growing up in L.A. gave me a window into the industry,” says Bieber, who DJ’d from middle school through college. His passion and experience inform his approach to management, saying it’s key to “treat the artist like a partner, not a product.” In 2025, his partnership with Disco Lines proved most fruitful as the DJ-producer scored a hit with his remix of Tinashe’s “No Broke Boys,” which topped the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart in July. But Bieber believes his biggest success is “helping a truly independent artist build and own businesses that are the foundation of long-term success, not just riding the hype of one hit.”
Emily Braham
Age: 34
Company: Yo&Co Management
Key clients: Olivia Dean, Xanadu
Braham dropped out of college at 21 to accept an internship with United Management, earning £5 a day to keep the office tidy and make tea. Six months later, she was offered a full-time assistant role. A few years later, Braham met rising singer-songwriter Olivia Dean at a BRIT School original song showcase and signed her in 2019. She says effective management boils down to “tunnel vision and unwavering belief.” In 2025, those things led Dean to a year of firsts: Single “Man I Need” entered the Hot 100; she performed on Saturday Night Live; and she scored a Grammy nomination for best new artist. Braham also counts selling 600,000 tickets for Dean’s 2026 The Art of Loving Live tour as a major success, along with “staying mostly sane.”
Jesús Josafat Chávez Angulo
Age: 35
Company: Josa Records
Key client: Netón Vega
Having started his career as a songwriter and producer, Chávez Angulo says the hands-on experience allowed him “to understand every stage of an artist’s development, from creation to execution. Over time, I naturally transitioned into management, driven by the need to protect the artist’s vision while building sustainable and strategic careers.” He’s done exactly that for Mexican singer-songwriter Netón Vega, who followed his 2024 debut album, Mi Vida Mi Muerte (which debuted at No. 1 on Top Regional Mexican Albums), with his 2025 project Delirium, written and produced with Edgar Barrera and Benny Blanco. Chávez Angulo says the back-to-back releases helped their overall goal of “positioning Netón Vega in a very short period of time as one of the most influential artists in the current music landscape.”
John Bogaard
Age: 36
Company: Terrains
Key clients: Ravyn Lenae, Arima Ederra, Zeemuffin
After producing a music festival while still a student at University of California, Los Angeles, Bogaard scored a job working for Christian and Kelly Clancy at 4 Strikes on what is now known as Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival. “My professional work expanded outside of event production quickly thereafter,” Bogaard says. He went on to manage Solange and co-found management and merchandise company Ceremony of Roses before launching Terrains in 2018. In the past year, R&B artist Ravyn Lenae’s hit “Love Me Not” entered the top 10 on charts including the Hot 100, Billboard Global 200, Mainstream Top 40 and Radio Songs. Bogaard has helped ensure Lenae’s business continues to grow as well, “without compromising her values and vision.”
Lauren McKinney
Age: 37
Company: Foundations
Key clients: Chappell Roan, Will Anderson, Zolita
When McKinney returned to management in 2022 “through a marketing lens,” focusing on “the creative side of storytelling around releases and touring,” her career clicked. And in the past year, one tour in particular was especially rewarding: Chappell Roan’s Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things pop-up shows. “Chappell was clear about wanting to create joy for queer communities, and seeing that intention so fully realized in real time was something I’m so proud to have been part of,” she says. Also in 2025, Roan launched The Midwest Princess Project in October to support trans youth and LGBTQ+ communities, and in November her power ballad “The Subway” earned a Grammy nomination for record of the year (and best pop solo performance). Through it all, McKinney aims for balance: “Helping artists navigate their bandwidth, focus and mental health” is a challenge for managers, she says. “There’s a constant internal negotiation of deciding where to invest your time, what to ask of artists and when to step back, all while trying to encourage creativity and vulnerability.”
Leah Hodgkiss
Age: 29
Company: Fly South Music Group
Key clients: Hayley Williams, Zac Farro, Paramore, Rico Nasty, The Linda Lindas, Friday Pilots Club
After co-signing a band to Prescription Songs’ label, Amigo Records, Hodgkiss met the act’s manager, Fly South owner Mark Mercado, and had a realization: “I could be more effective doing a lot for a small number of people as opposed to doing a little for a larger number.” She called Mercado to ask for a job, and he replied, “When do you want to start?” Helping Hayley Williams navigate the independent release of her acclaimed solo set, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, has been a career high — and proved how Hodgkiss has conquered what she believes to be the biggest challenge for managers today: “Keeping all of the weeds out of your artists’ gardens so their flowers can grow… What grows in one garden may wilt in another. It’s your job as the manager to discern what has a place, where and when so the artist comes across as few of the weeds as possible.”
Matt Downey
Age: 40
Company: Circuit Group
Key client: Ninajirachi
“A lifetime ago, I was an aspiring DJ, and not a good one,” Downey says. Still, the path led him to successfully manage one: He has helped Australian electronic DJ-producer Ninajirachi through a breakout year, during which she released her debut album, I Love My Computer; embarked on a sold-out Australian tour — her biggest North American trek comes this year, including a slot at Coachella — and earned three Australian Recording Industry Association Awards and two Triple J Awards. “There’s a thousand things you could be doing, but only a handful you should be doing,” Downey says. “Trust your artist, trust your team and take responsibility.”
Megan Hinde
Age: 36
Company: Painted Rock Management
Key client: Ella Langley
While working at a record label and concert promotion company, Hinde says she “fell into” management alongside business partner Bradley Jordan. Jordan had booked country artist Ella Langley as an opening act for a handful of shows throughout 2018-21 and soon enough, Jordan and Hinde built their management company around the rising star. In 2025, Langley was the most nominated artist at the Academy of Country Music Awards and tied for most at the Country Music Association Awards. At the latter, she debuted “Choosin’ Texas,” which became her highest-charting Hot 100 hit after entering the top five in early 2026. Hinde is equally proud of a personal achievement last year: “Walking my Boykin spaniel, Sheila, 747 miles.”
Morgan Buckles
Age: 31
Company: B. Management
Key client: Mariah the Scientist
Buckles first came on as Mariah the Scientist’s tour manager in 2022; Mariah had parted with her management team at the time, and Buckles (who is the artist’s sister) stepped in. “My key to managing effectively is to learn as much as I can: How can I negotiate a successful [publishing] deal if I don’t know what to ask for? How can I challenge a headline act’s production team about my sound and lights if I never read the contract?” Such curiosity has helped Mariah the Scientist navigate a year in which she charted four Hot 100 hits, including “Burning Blue,” which topped Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay for four weeks. In August, she released her fourth album, Hearts Sold Separately, which debuted at No. 1 on Top R&B Albums.
Nick Guilmette
Age: 30
Company: n/a
Key client: EJAE
While his high school friends went on to form alternative hip-hop act Brockhampton, Guilmette always wanted to advocate for songwriters and producers. He first worked as GM at boutique music management firm Ozone Entertainment before joining Prescription Songs as an A&R executive while also managing artist-songwriter EJAE. “Managing an artist is a team sport, and making sure everyone is moving in the same direction is key,” he says. In 2025, that direction was clear: “up, up, up,” as EJAE co-wrote and sang (as HUNTR/X member Rumi) on the KPop Demon Hunters smash hit “Golden,” which topped the Hot 100 and earned her a Grammy nomination for song of the year. As Guilmette says, “It’s been an honor and a privilege to help EJAE navigate her sudden rise to stardom.”
Nathan Olivas, Scott Jason
Ages: 35, 36
Companies: Everett Entertainment, Two First Names
Key client: Jim-E Stack
Olivas started developing artists — “You could hardly call it management,” he quips — as a college freshman. Meanwhile, Jim-E Stack co-manager Jason learned the ropes through the London club scene, particularly helping run a club night called YOYO in West London. “Being part of that environment gave me early, direct access to artists, writers and producers outside of the traditional label system,” he says. He was just 18 when he signed his first management client, DJ-producer Lil Silva. Together, Olivas (whose clients also include Jahson Paynter, Von Boch and apob) and Jason (who also manages Elmiene and Andrew Aged) have guided Jim-E Stack through his biggest year yet, as he co-produced and co-wrote Bon Iver’s Sable, Fable and Lorde’s Virgin. “The real proof is in the progress,” Jason says, “not the overnight success.”
Paula Park
Age: 32
Company: Soft Serve
Key client: Audrey Nuna
Park studied music production and business at Berklee College of Music with a concentration in management. But, she insists, “I never imagined I’d actually become an artist manager.” Her career started as the in-house philanthropy lead at SB Projects, working with artists including Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and Quavo to “think through what they wanted their legacy to be beyond music and turning those ideas into real initiatives,” she says. But when Audrey Nuna asked Park to go to dinner, “things clicked quickly… Sometimes you don’t see yourself in a role until you’re faced with something you care about enough to fully commit.” In 2024, Park founded Soft Serve, and her expertise across the business has culminated in a massive year for client Nuna: finishing her first tour, launching her Baby OG Scholarship and landing the role as the singing voice of HUNTR/X member Mira. The biggest challenge of it all? “Protecting long-term vision in an industry optimized for short-term momentum.”
Therese “Ohemaa” Akua Jones
Age: 34
Company: Wondergirl & Co.
Key client: MOLIY
Working in brand marketing translated seamlessly to helping creators build brands of their own “while protecting and creating their intellectual property,” says Jones, co-founder of Jambo Spaces, which offers IP education and funding to creators. That work soon evolved into management, and for the past four years Jones and Afrobeats artist MOLIY have been laying what she calls “intentional groundwork.” In 2025, that led to a chart-topping remix of MOLIY’s hit “Shake It to the Max (FLY)” that featured Shenseea, Skillibeng and Silent Addy. The hit ranked at No. 1 on the year-end Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart. Still, Jones says, “Everyone has the answers to what you could’ve, should’ve or would’ve done better… Managers are navigating rapid scale, shifting industry politics, dwindling budgets and more, while still safeguarding their artists’ creative ownership and long-term sustainability in the industry.”
Willie Upbin
Age: 28
Company: No Truce
Key clients: Geese, Cameron Winter, Racing Mount Pleasant
The 2025 album Getting Killed boosted New York rockers Geese (vocalist Cameron Winter, guitarist Emily Green, bassist Dominic DiGesu and drummer Max Bassin) to a new level of acclaim, with streaming spikes coming after widespread year-end accolades. The band’s third full-length followed Winter’s own debut solo album, 2024’s Heavy Metal, and the one-two punch elevated the band’s exposure. The group’s headlining tour stopped at venues including The Fonda in Los Angeles and Brooklyn Paramount in New York. Yet manager Upbin says his biggest success from the past year is “learning how to say no.” That philosophy goes hand in hand with his key to effective management: “Don’t let your ego get in the way.”
This article originally appeared in the January 24, 2026 issue of Billboard.
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