Danyel Surrency Jones is a visionary, global marketing and business strategist, and entrepreneur with nearly three decades of experience scaling innovation across Fortune 100 enterprises and high-growth startup ventures. Her career spans healthcare, sports and technology, where she designs scalable system models that build enterprise value. Danyel is a rare hybrid of operator and innovator, uniquely positioned at the intersection of corporate scale and entrepreneurial disruption.

 

As a former executive at Amazon for Worldwide Stores, Danyel led global strategy and execution to identify, classify, merchandise, and scale small businesses (<$50 million in revenue) across Amazon’s retail flywheel—driving visibility, growth, and integration for sellers representing >$55 billion in annual store revenue. She led the growth strategy for small businesses across major tentpole, tier 2 and cultural events including Prime Day, National Small Business Month, Black History Month, and Women’s History Month.

 

Danyel oversaw Amazon’s $150 million Black Business Accelerator (BBA) commitment, which under her transformational leadership became a performance-based engine generating more than $1 billion in gross merchandise sales and delivering double-digit year-over-year growth.

 

Prior to Amazon, Danyel was the Co-Founder and CEO of POWERHANDZ, a sports technology company she built from concept to global commercialization in over 180 countries. Under her leadership, she developed patented technology, built global manufacturing, and supply chain infrastructure, and expanded distribution into five major retail channels.

 

POWERHANDZ formed partnerships with major retailers, NBA, NFL, Puma, Jordan Brand, elite performance training facilities, and the World Boxing Council (WBC); becoming the first woman-owned company to secure an official WBC partnership. She also served as the strategic architect behind the POWERHANDZ LaMelo Ball Collection and ultimately leading the company to a tender offer and successful strategic exit in 2022.

 

Earlier in her career, Danyel spent nearly two decades with leading healthcare innovators, Medtronic and Philips Medical Systems, where she led global national accounts, product development, integrated marketing & communications, and customer acquisition strategies across complex medical technologies. She made history as the first woman elected President of Medtronic's enterprise sales resource group.

 

Building on her expertise in scaling businesses, today, as a fractional CEO/CSO/CMO, Danyel develops systems that connect strategy, marketing, operations, and capital to drive durable economic value—advancing this work through DSJ Strategy Group, a global strategy and brand development consulting firm, and H² Capital Venture, an investment firm focused on joint ventures and disciplined capital deployment.

 

Danyel holds a BS degree from the University of Central Florida, an MBA from Florida International University, and completed executive education at the Wharton School of Business Marketing. Danyel has been named Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year, The Root 100 Most Influential Leaders, and recognized among the Top 25 Women in Tech. She has been featured in Forbes, CNBC, Men's Health, Bloomberg, Sports Illustrated, Essence, Vanity Fair, AfroTech, and Black Enterprise.

 

A passionate advocate for entrepreneurship, community, and autism awareness, Danyel serves on the Marcus Graham Project, Dallas Theater Center, and the Brian Dawkins Foundation as a board member and strategic advisor. In honor of her son, she founded the Harper Jaz Foundation, supporting autistic families through education, innovation, and inclusion.

 

Danyel is known for disrupting conventional thinking and building what comes next—designing strategies that connect culture and commerce to profitable operating systems that transform ideas into scalable enterprises.