Behind every successful business, there’s someone running the show. For online food and grocery delivery platform foodpanda, it’s their chief executive officer Daniel Marogy.
Dan, as others casually call him, hails from the United Kingdom. He holds a degree in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Bristol and has extensive experience in investment management. He eventually ventured into the tech industry en route to joining foodpanda, and he has been with the company for nearly four years.
As for his stay in the country, it’s been a much longer 15 years. He’s lived mostly in Metro Manila, but he’s been around the country a lot. His favorite destination out of all the places he has visited is Caramoan. He’s tasted a lot of delicacies, too, and as a fan of spicy food, he loves Bicol Express the most.
But throughout his years here in the Philippines, he shares that what he’s learned to love most here is the people. It’s sort of a “selling point” for him here in the country.
“I think you’ll notice as soon as you leave the Philippines just how nice and warm the people here are,” says Dan. “Whenever I’m overseas I’m kind of reminded that.”
Recently, Dan revisited an old hobby that he shares with a lot of Filipinos, especially Ka-panda delivery partners: riding.
Dan says he first had a glimpse of the two-wheeled lifestyle when he was on a trip to Vietnam about 20 years ago. He bought a bike when he got back home to the UK, but it got stolen and he was never able to retrieve it. That was the last time he ever rode a motorcycle—until he rediscovered his love for riding shortly after joining foodpanda.
Now, he has not just one but two motorcycles: a Triumph Tiger Sport 660 and a Triumph Speed Twin 1200. He also makes it a point to ride every week. He usually goes through Tanay since it’s closer to the metro, but he occasionally ventures out to Tagaytay as well.
Asked about his dream ride destination overseas, Dan says Patagonia in South America is at the top of his list. Locally, it’s Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte.
As fun as it looks, riding isn’t easy, especially for beginners. It’s very technical, Dan says, more so than it is to drive four wheels.
“You really have to constantly be polishing technique and then also challenging yourself to do things that aren’t always that natural like leaning or not squeezing the brake too hard at certain points so you don’t lose traction,” Dan quips. “At the same time you’re exposed, you don’t have a shell around you. It means the whole experience is exciting—it’s really thrilling.”
That’s also probably why he finds riding to be good for de-stressing. “In a way, it’s a bit like meditation,” he says. “You have to focus on one thing—that’s your riding. In a way you’re focused on that one thing and you’re not thinking of anything else. I find it actually quite relaxing.”
Dan also shares that riding has helped him become a better foodpanda CEO because not only does it help him de-stress, but it also teaches him to pay more attention to detail. He also learns to be more agile and react to road conditions more quickly, which is a part of riding that he says could influence foodpanda-related decisions in the future.
Created in partnership with foodpanda Philippines
