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Meet the winner(s): Darryl & Aiyana

May 09, 2022

By: Nicholas Pirard

Reading time: 3 minutes
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After every new pitch, we highlight the winner(s) in their own words. Next up: Darryl and Aiyana - winners of the Binance pitch.

MEET DARRYL

Who am I?
Hi all 👋

I'm Darryl, born in Hong Kong, raised in the United States, now living in the Netherlands. During the day, you can catch me crafting integrated strategies and working PowerPoint wizardry for Edelman as EMEA Deputy Digital Lead for Connected Storytelling. At night I’m an amateur chef, an avid gamer, and a devourer of sci-fi & fantasy books (in addition to extra random interests that I pick up).

You can find me on LinkedIn here!

Where do I come from?

In life?
I’m the cumulation of a childhood that spanned from the East to the West, a supportive family with a fiery passion for food and travel, and an insatiable curiosity coupled with the desire to find better ways of doing things.

In work?

I started my career with Pernod Ricard looking after Corporate Social Responsibility for the Asia region. Getting the digital itch, I ventured into the agency world working on Fitbit & FIJI Water before joining the founding team of an EdTech startup where I led all aspects of marketing.

After two years of intensive learning, adrenaline, and fun, I joined Edelman in Hong Kong where I had the opportunity to drive fundraising for UNHCR 💰, launch TVs globally for TCL 📺, bring Sunkist citrus into the world of Animal Crossing 🍊, and win bronze in the global Cannes Young Lion competition 🦁. Last year, I moved to our Amsterdam office into an EMEA role where I now work with amazing colleagues on some of the coolest clients ever.

Where do I want to go in the Future?

I want to:

- 🌴 Go to the Maldives before global warming makes it impossible.

- 💥 Create impactful work that wins a Grand Prix.

- 🚀 Launch and scale a MarTech Startup


MEET AIYANA

Who am I?

Hoi! I’m Aiyana, an art and advertising enthusiast, currently making kick-ass content for Netflix as part of the creative team at Truus.

Fun facts:

1. I was nicknamed Trouble at my old job (I’m almost certain they meant it in a good way).

2. Music was my first love; catch DJ Zam bumping tunes all day, everyday.

3. I have an obsession with colour and my favourite one is yellow 💛🌼🌕.

Where do I come from?

A slight melting pot when it comes to origins, I was born to English-Irish parents - shoutout Mum and Dad! - in Luxembourg and lived there up until I went to university in London. After graduating, I had difficulty breaking into the creative industry and was applying to many different roles across London and Benelux. As luck would have it, I ended up in the Netherlands for a creative marketing internship at a student travel company… but Miss Rona shut that down real quick. Not long after, I began working as a Creative (Intern, and then Junior) at Insight TV, where I was fortunate enough to meet and learn from some amazingly talented people. Fast forward to March of this year, when I began working at Truus! I may only be two months in, but they’ve been two great months. Big love to my Truus and Insight family 💌.

Where do I want to go in the Future?

I would love to work on more campaigns, perhaps with a focus on OOH and activations; I have the dream of bagging a massive billboard in London or New York (Piccadilly Circus, Times Square, etc.) and seeing the work I designed or art directed on it. My ‘next big thing’ is something I still need to properly formulate, but overall I’d like to make a positive impact with the work I do.