Daniel Nikolla

Daniel Nikolla (born 5 July 1993) is a British-Albanian marketing professional, entrepreneur, and community leader based in the United Kingdom. He is the founder and director of Merx Marketing Ltd. A marketing agency operating in the UK and Albania. Nikolla is a chartered marketer and has held leadership roles, notably as marketing manager at Hardy Signs, where he spearheaded digital transformation initiatives. He is a well-known figure in the Albanian diaspora.

Early life

Daniel Nikolla was born in Tirana, Albania, on 5 July 1993, to an Albanian family. He grew up in the Brryl neighbourhood of the city with working-class parents, Mitro Nikolla and Fitnete Nikolla. Mitro Nikolla is originally from Vërnicë, a village in Dibër. His dad, Mitro, held the position of the Head of Finance for several institutions, such as Tirana International Airport, Drejtoria e Sherbimeve Qeveritare, Drejtoria e Pergjithshme e Burgjeve, etc. His mother, Fitnete, worked at Albcontrol for over 25 years as a finance specialist. As a young child, Daniel was devoted to football and learning English through private courses. He was an active (youth to pro) football player from the age of 10 to 20. Throughout the years, he played for Partizani Tirana, Dinamo Tirana and Internacionale Tirana. In 2012, Daniel was taken on a trial at Wacker Burghausen U23, a team playing in 3. Liga of Germany then. However, due to a harsh injury from which he could never fully recover, he could not continue pursuing football on a professional level.

Career

Moving to England

In 2013, he moved to London to study English at Waltham Forest College and Creative Media Production at City and Islington College. His dream to become a professional football player stopped there, but he always followed football closely. During his studies at Waltham Forest College, he played for the football team of the college. In 2015, Daniel was elected the Student Union President (HE) at City and Islington College. During his studies, he was also sitting on boards and committees of the college, including the Board of Governors. He enjoyed these roles as he learnt a lot by networking with successful business people and policymakers. The college with over 15,000 students wasn't enough.

In 2016, Daniel won the elections to be a councillor in the National Executive Council of the National Union of Students UK (NUS UK). In the same year, he won International Student Officer of the Year (FE) and was runner-up for Further Education Student Union of the Year at the NUS UK Awards 2016. The progression shown by the student union was picked up by the local media of Islington and recognised within the college.

Fame

In 2016, Daniel was selected to feature in a UEFA Euro 2016 short film as part of their 'Make Your Debut' campaign. He and his father Mitro travelled to France, where the European tournament was held, and followed the first match of the Albanian national football team. The video reached millions of people across the world and became extremely popular amongst Albanians. In the same year, he was part of a marketing campaign of City and Islington College, and his portrait was placed across the underground stations in North-East London. At the end of 2016, Daniel completed his BA of Arts in Film Production at the University of West London. (In 2023, he was awarded the Spirit of the Alumni Award at UWL Alumni's annual awards.)

Hardy Signs - £1.1 Million

In 2018, Daniel Nikolla joined Hardy Signs as the marketing executive. He worked closely with the senior management, his manager, and the sales team to improve marketing and sales processes, which have taken the branding, positioning, and digital marketing of the company to the next stage. In January 2020, he was promoted to the marketing manager position. The campaigns Daniel set up have generated over £1.2 million for the company between 2018 and 2023. Daniel and his team utilised digital marketing strategies and tactics which have proven highly successful. His achievements at Hardy Signs have been recognised with the Young Professional of the Year 2020' award given by the East Midlands Chambers of Commerce and the 'Future Face of Sales, Marketing and Communications 2020' given by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.

Chartered Marketer

After 4 years of studying and continuous professional development, Daniel achieved the Chartered Marketer Status, awarded by the Chartered Institute of Marketing UK (CIM).

Generation Next

Just before winning the Generation Next Young Professional of the Year 2020, Daniel was invited to join the inaugural board of the organisation. Since young people are one of his core values, he was very excited to join the board. In 2021, Daniel was appointed as the vice-chair of the board and in the following year, was promoted to the chair of the organisation.

He has previously been a member of the United States of America Youth Council in Albania and has volunteered for many organisations and causes.

Down Syndrome Albania

In 2021, Daniel founded the campaign "Run/Support like a Marathoner" in aid of Down Syndrome Albania. The annual 30-day sprint campaign consists of getting companies to sponsor the runners of the Down Syndrome team at the Tirana Marathon.

Merx Marketing

As a result of continuous networking, development of marketing skills and increased demand, in 2022, Daniel founded Merx Marketing Ltd, helping organisations to create a marketing engine that turns spending into measurable profit. This is his current day business.

He is also a co-founder of the Albanian Young Professionals Midlands (AYP Midlands), a network dedicated to connecting and supporting young Albanian professionals across the Midlands region through career development initiatives and community engagement.

Personal life

Daniel is a resident of the UK since 2013. He is very involved with the Albanian diaspora all over the UK and has a big social media presence among this community as well, making him a well-known Albanian figure in Britain, with even Sky News interviewing him. Nikolla has been active in diaspora initiatives and has expressed support for pro-democracy and centre-right movements, including the Democratic Party of Albania. While maintaining a primary focus on professional and community development. Daniel has a younger brother in Albania.

Daniel also partook in film-making in the UK.