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Busy day today. Had to drive a Lotus from Brussels to Hannover. I know. Some guys just have all the fun. My boyish dreams of endless open highways and pushing the pedal through the metal in a country that has no speed limit: busted. I crawled from roadwork to traffic jam. Think some of my 200 something horses actually fell asleep…completely bored. At least my colleague Dirk aka Chewie driving in the car in front of me had our new Polish trainee to talk to…

Rolled the yellow Lotus onto the Parrot booth, where we will be dealing with press, analysts and (scary thought) random people for the better part of a week. Took us some time to set all the Parrot Bluetooth devices up in and around the car and to arrange the Bluetooth SIG briefing room.

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100_02802 Nice surprise in the evening, when we arrived @ our home for this week. The room we booked belongs to an 18 year old girl, that moved somewhere else for a week. A bit startling to charge up our high tech devices between a plushy powder table, a dying terrarium, 9 dried red roses, a golden rabbit, a plastic pony with Paris Hilton’s hair … and more stuffed animals and teddy bears than is good for me. Well, it’s a hard life 🙂

Danny Devriendt is the Managing Director of IPG/Dynamic in Brussels, and the CEO of The Eye of Horus, a global think-tank focusing on innovative technology topics. With a proven track record in leadership mentoring, C-level whispering, strategic communications and a knack for spotting meaningful trends, Danny challenges the status quo and embodies change. Attuned to the subtlest signals from the digital landscape, Danny identifies significant trends in science, economics, culture, society, and technology and assesses their potential impact on brands, organizations, and individuals. His ability for bringing creative ideas, valuable insights, and unconventional solutions to life, makes him an invaluable partner and energizing advisor for top executives. Specializing in innovation -and the corporate communications, influence, strategic positioning, exponential change, and (e)reputation that come with it-, Danny is the secret weapon that you hope your competitors never tap into. As a guest lecturer at a plethora of universities and institutions, he loves to share his expertise with future (and current) generations. Having studied Educational Sciences and Agogics, Danny's passion for people, Schrödinger's cat, quantum mechanics, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fuels his unique, outside-of-the-box thinking. He never panics. Previously a journalist in Belgium and the UK, Danny joined IPG Mediabrands in 2012 after serving as a global EVP Digital and Social for the Porter Novelli network (Omnicom). His expertise in managing global, regional, or local teams; delivering measurable business growth; navigating fierce competition; and meeting challenging deadlines makes him an seasoned leader. (He has a microwave at home.) An energetic presenter, he brought his enthusiasm, clicker and inspiring slides to over 300 global events, including SXSW, SMD, DMEXCO, Bluetooth World Congress, GSMA MWC, and Cebit. He worked with an impressive portfolio of clients like Bayer AG, 3M, Coca Cola, KPMG, Tele Atlas, Parrot, The Belgian National Lottery, McDonald's, Colruyt, Randstad, Barco, Veolia, Alten, Dow, PWC, the European Commission, Belfius, and HP. He played a pivotal role in Bluetooth's global success. Ranked 3rd most influential ad executive on Twitter by Business Insider and listed among the top 10 ad execs to follow by CEO Magazine, Danny also enjoys writing poetry and short stories, earning several literary awards in Belgium and the Netherlands. Fluent in Dutch, French, and English, Danny is an eager and versatile communicator. His BBQ skills are legendary.

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