Managing Partner
For more than two decades, Derrick Daye has helped ambitious leaders turn brand into a disciplined driver of financial performance. As Managing Partner of The Blake Project, he leads the firm's strategic direction, oversees day-to-day operations, and works closely with clients at the intersection of brand strategy, business strategy, and enterprise value.
"Growth comes from focus, not expansion."
Dr. Derrick Daye
Managing Partner, The Blake Project
Before founding The Blake Project in 2003, Derrick developed his expertise at Saatchi & Saatchi and other leading agencies, working with some of the world’s most recognized brands. That experience established a disciplined, data-driven approach to brand strategy — one he credits with aligning organizations around unmet customer needs. It also shaped a conviction that continues to define The Blake Project's work: brand, managed with strategic rigor, is one of the most powerful financial assets a business can build.
Since then, Derrick has led and co-led brand strategy efforts for more than 250 B2C and B2B organizations, including Abbott, Coca-Cola (Olympic Games), Deloitte AI, EA Sports, Entrepreneur Magazine, FootJoy, Heliae (Mars Family), ING, Intel, LexisNexis, Nestlé, Olive Garden/Red Lobster, OPRY Entertainment Group, Southwest Airlines, Utah Jazz, and Wyndham Hotels Worldwide. Under his leadership, The Blake Project helps leadership teams align brand and business strategy in ways that drive revenue growth, strengthen margin, and increase enterprise value.
Derrick's approach is defined by judgment over methodology. He leads with clarity, not frameworks, helping leadership teams navigate complexity, confront trade-offs, and make the decisions that matter most. His work spans AI-enabled research, brand strategy, architecture, competitive positioning, and brand-led growth across more than 40 industries and six continents.
In 2006, he launched Branding Strategy Insider, now one of the most widely read sources of brand strategy thinking, reaching more than 60,000 subscribers and recognized by Advertising Age as a leading resource for building stronger brands and more valuable businesses. In 2013 he created The Un-Conference, a competitive-learning experience designed to equip leaders to solve real-world business problems in a rapidly changing marketplace.
Derrick led the expansion of The Blake Project's global footprint across Australia, Ecuador, India, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, supporting clients across markets and cultures. He is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer at institutions including UCLA, USC, Northwestern, and EDC Paris Business School, and is regularly quoted in major business media including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Adweek, and Inc.
Most notably, he has worked with Dr. Bernice King, The White House Press Corps and helped the National Park Service arrive at new and optimistic decisions about the Statue of Liberty's competitive future.
Derrick earned a Doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership at the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education and an Executive MBA from the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business
