Nobody expected a small-town boy from Yorkshire to one day become one of the present generation’s most promising CEOs, model, and trustee of a charitable foundation at the same time, not even Billy Eldridge himself. But if he had one thing going for himself, it was that he was willing to put in the hard work needed in order to succeed both in business and all his other ventures and projects. He is where he is today because he braved the tough times of establishing a business with once taking his eyes off the goal.
Currently, Billy is the CEO of NeoBanq Ltd., a FinTech company that specializes in payment processing and merchant services. He is also the director of Ecuador Gold Ltd., which operates a copper and gold mine in Ecuador. As part-owner of the mining company, part of his responsibility was to raise finances to expand its operation in order to become an IPO in either Toronto or London. Billy finished his Master’s degree in Economics at University College London (UCL). His expertise includes business development, fundraising, and investor relations. In the business industry, he is best known for his sales skills, excellent communication skills, partnership management skills, and customer relationship management.
Apart from his booming businesses, he is also the co-founder of The Left Behind Foundation. The foundation exists to help forgotten children who go through unthinkable situations in their desire to be free from exploitation, poverty, disease, and the utter lack of basic human necessities. The organization is presently raising funds to support its Lifeline Projects, which intends to extend help to four immediate areas: China, Bangladesh, Syria, and Yemen. The sad reality is, these countries are experiencing a rising and worsening case of left behind and refugee orphaned children. Billy believes in the importance of impacting the lives of these children today while there is still a chance. He believes that they deserve a chance at becoming individuals with a promise and a bright future.
As a young boy, Billy secured a basketball scholarship at Virginia Tech. It helped him greatly as his mother was left to fend for him and his brother after his parents divorced. It was while he was in the U.S. that his modeling career started after being spotted by America’s Next Top Model host Nole Marin, and also the director of AIM Model Management, while he was on holiday in New York. Billy’s chance encounter with Nole in New York led to a new and exciting season. Fortunately for him, Nole was starting a new agency, and he was the first that was signed. At just 22 years old, Billy went around the world for two years as an Abercrombie and Fitch model.
In his travels, Billy got to meet a wide array of people. While he still had a hard time wrapping his head around his newfound fortune in life, he still made the most of it by expanding his network, building solid savings, and getting the right ideas for what would become his future ventures. Eventually, he was able to reside in Hong Kong as he became a gold trader. It was during his time there that he became aware of the situation of multiple forgotten children in China. He knew then that he needed to do something, and the foundation was the pragmatic and effective response.
For the most part, Billy simply considers himself a lucky guy. But he is determined to use his luck to do a lot of good and change lives in the process.
Connect with Billy Eldridge on Linkedin to learn more about his business expertise. Follow him on Facebook for updates on his latest projects.
