About Me.
Virtually, I have connecting with people from all over the globe, been invited to Ibiza by influencers I have done business with and... not gone... any ways. I have done plenty of other exciting things in my time so far. Including climbing the Northern Italian Alps, sipping fine wine listening to a sommelier throw out quick details in a language I was only beginning to grasp and feign deep understanding. Think logging into a meeting to review KPIs after a brisk hike through Acadia National Park.
I consider myself a generalist, though not in the sense that I simply like doing a little bit of everything. I know what I know because I have spent much of my life trying to make businesses, ideas, and creative efforts actually work. That process has required me to wear many hats, adapt quickly, and learn under real time, budget, and resource constraints. If you knew me, you would understand that I would not have it any other way.
Hello there, my name is Daniel R. Penney. I was formally educated at the University of Pittsburgh, a school now considered a "new Ivy" by Forbes Magazine. Can you tell I am proud to say it?
Since graduating in 2020, I have honed my experience in a global business setting, taking meetings and completing projects on the go and abroad in Berlin, Germany where Brili GmbH is headquartered.
I am self-driven and motivated by the challenge of solving the problem in front of me with passion, thoughtfulness, and follow-through. I enjoy stepping into complexity, finding the moving parts, and helping bring order, momentum, and clarity to situations that need it. Over time, that has made me comfortable working across strategy, operations, communication, analysis, and execution without losing sight of the larger goal. I also believe that every person should live by a philosophy, and that organizations should as well. The way we work should be shaped by values, not just outcomes. To me, that means approaching people and problems with courtesy, integrity, and a genuine respect for the shared effort behind any worthwhile endeavor. Competence matters, but character matters too, and I believe the strongest work is built where both are present. Much of my experience has come from learning by doing, taking ownership, and staying open to whatever a challenge demands of me. I take pride in being someone who can think broadly, act practically, and contribute wherever needed. Generalism, to me, is not a lack of direction. It is a commitment to understanding how things connect, and to doing what it takes to move meaningful work forward.
Core Competencies
Start-Up Experience
Curieye
I contributed to customer discovery, outreach, beta program planning, and partnership development while coordinating with founders on product positioning, user feedback, and market validation in commercial and institutional environments.
Curieye was accepted into an exclusive cohort at Ascender for their Founder's Hat Program. During this 6-month program, we pitched our idea and won $5k in initial funding, allowing us to purchase the robot and get things started.
I coordinated and ran the first beta test at Churchville Nature Center.
Education
2016-2020
Bachelors of Science
University of Pittsburgh
I earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh with a specialization in Global Management, a degree designed to build expertise in managing people, operations, and strategy in an international business environment. The program combined a full business core in finance, marketing, accounting, operations, economics, communication, and ethics with advanced study in global workforce management, supply chains, international economics, and competitive strategy. My coursework was further shaped by second-language study, economics, and German, reflecting a multidisciplinary approach grounded in both analytical business training and global perspective
Global Management
I earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, specializing in Global Management. This interdisciplinary degree combined a rigorous business foundation in finance, accounting, marketing, operations, strategy, economics, communication, and ethics with advanced training in the international dimensions of management. The specialization emphasized how organizations navigate people, policy, and process across global markets, while extensive second-language study and related work in economics and German strengthened my ability to think across cultures, systems, and business environments.
