Daniel Merza is a wellbeing and leadership specialist, award-winning international speaker, teen coach and author.
Having worn the “underdog” cap growing up, Daniel’s story can be summed up in three words – “Defying the odds”.
Bullied for a decade, diagnosed with a mental illness aged 13, and labelled as a student with “no hope”, Daniel faced up to his tormentors at 16 and turned his life around.
During an illustrious corporate career spanning 15 years with leading companies like KPMG and BDO, Daniel spent considerable time developing the weaker spots of younger staff – such as tenacity, emotional intelligence, stress management, self confidence, and leadership – as part of his senior leadership roles.
Having witnessed first-hand as a manager the degree to which young people lacked the essential skills to thrive post-school, Daniel left behind a six figure corporate pay packet to embark upon his mission to inspire tenacity, optimism and empowerment in high school students and “get them ready” to flourish in the real world.
Based in Sydney, Daniel has developed clever and fun ways to engage, empower and equip thousands of people worldwide to get the monkeys off their back and become the leader of their life. He has been featured on the radio and various newspaper and media outlets, and his work has also been acknowledged in NSW Parliament.
Daniel was a keynote speaker at the Middle East Youth Expo 2020 in Abu Dhabi, the largest youth event in the region with 10,000 students attending. Daniel also toured the UAE, speaking at high schools in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Daniel is also the author of Get the Monkeys off Your Back, a book specifically written for teens (and parents/educators), covering important topics such as self leadership, resilience, mental health, bullying, social media addiction, self discovery and peak performance.