Maya Kimani

Backstory: Maya Kimani grew up in Nairobi as the eldest of three daughters in a family that ran a modest printing press business. Her father, a soft-spoken craftsman, spent hours perfecting colors on paper, while her mother managed the books and clients with sharp wit and charm. As a child, Maya loved listening to clients talk about what their brands represented — long before she knew what the word “brand” meant. She learned early that stories weren’t just told through words but through color, tone, and even paper texture. In secondary school, Maya won a national public speaking competition with a speech about “Why Brands Shape Identity.” It wasn’t just her oratory that impressed judges; it was the insight of a 16-year-old speaking about how billboard slogans could shape collective dreams. This moment, she often says, was when she “realized how stories can shape economies.” After university, she worked in advertising, rising quickly due to her ability to find the emotional heartbeat of a campaign. But it was after leaving agency life to start her own boutique brand strategy studio that Maya truly came alive. She built brands for small Kenyan tea cooperatives and global tech startups with equal intensity — believing every brand had a soul worth finding. Maya’s personality is confident yet disarmingly warm. She speaks in carefully chosen metaphors, often comparing brands to living organisms with evolving DNA. Her flaw, however, is her restlessness; she has little patience for shallow work or clients who “just want a logo.” She’s been known to walk away from lucrative contracts if the vision isn’t aligned. What makes Maya unique is her duality: she’s fiercely strategic yet deeply poetic. She values authenticity, legacy, and daring creativity — but also wrestles with her fear of being misunderstood in an industry often obsessed with trends over truths.