Elevation is often framed as ascent – a clean climb from one rung to the next. But for Daniel Woodroof, the theme for our first digital cover of 2026 doesn’t evoke a linear progression.
The 29-year-old is best known as the co-founder and CEO of Pandan Social, an award-winning digital marketing agency backed by one of the world’s largest PR firms. “This is probably my latest chapter amongst a lot of different chapters in my career,” he says, with a look that suggests he’s lived many different lives.
From motorsports to TV hosting, consulting to marketing, each path in Woodroof’s journey has been a vertical in its own right: a summit reached, and a base camp for the next climb. And yet, he’s navigated them all without a traditional roadmap – or even a degree – to guide him.
The first ascent – racing against time
Before marketing pitches and digital campaigns, Woodroof’s world revolved around speed and precision. What started as a casual family outing at a go-kart track in Shah Alam quickly became an obsession.
“For my 12th birthday, my dad got me this training package to learn how to drive a go-kart. Not just the stuff that you do for fun with family, but like a proper race car,” he recalls enthusiastically. That gift was the spark that propelled him into competitive motorsports. From there, he progressed to Formula 4 (then known as Formula BMW) and eventually Formula 3 in Asia.
Motorsports taught him grit and discipline early, but it also exposed him to the brutal realities of elite competition. Racing, he learned, is not just about talent; it is also about sponsorship, timing, and access. By 18, those realities caught up with him. “I ran out of funding, like many other drivers,” he says plainly.
Missing even a few months of seat time felt catastrophic. “At that point in your career, that’s an eternity. You’re already on a massive back foot.” The alternative – becoming a racing coach, mechanic, or engineer – simply wasn’t what he envisioned. “I wanted to be a race car driver or nothing else,” he admits.
“I didn’t want to be a driver coach, mechanic, or engineer. I wanted to be a race car driver or nothing else.”
Nevertheless, years after stepping away from the cockpit, Woodroof remains connected to his racing roots through Stratos Motorsports, a team his father initially started with his mentor as a cost-effective way to support his racing career. “I retained a director role and equity in the company, but it has grown from just a team revolving around me into now the most successful karting racing team in Asia,” he explains.
Among Stratos Motorsports’ many accolades are 28 Asian Karting Championship titles and 9 e-Racing Championship titles. It has also branched out into two additional verticals: Stratos Racing School, a grassroots racing academy, and Stratos Sports Management, which represents drivers from all over the world.
Changing altitudes: From circuits to consulting
After retiring from racing, Woodroof found himself wandering through life without a singular obsession. With months to spare between the end of the racing season and the start of university, he dabbled in TV hosting gigs for Fox Sports and Discovery Channel. “I had no idea what I wanted to do in life. It was more of a case of saying yes to everything,” he reflects candidly.
Then came the opportunity to explore a consulting role overseas, which Woodroof ultimately deferred university to pursue. “It felt a bit idiotic to turn down a well-paying job to go study the same thing,” he justifies, keeping an international business degree as plan B. That offer eventually granted him valuable exposure to markets across Australia, Singapore, and the United States. As it turned out, he didn’t need an academic transcript after all.
During a corporate turnaround project in the U.S., Woodroof faced an unexpected challenge. His team had fired the entire marketing department of a client company, leaving him, a 21-year-old with no formal marketing background, in charge. He picked up everything from social content to SEO, event design, and graphic production, essentially functioning as a one-person department.
“I had no idea what I wanted to do in life. It was more of a case of saying yes to everything.”
A year in, the workload became unsustainable. His solution was pragmatic: “I told them, give me the salary of one American staff – USD3,000 – and I’ll build you a team of Malaysians to do my work. Then I can do higher value things on-ground.” The client agreed. One call to his best friend Brandon Lee later, and Pandan Social was born as a three-person operation.
Naming the agency reflected his intent to blend local authenticity with accessibility. “I wanted to have something that was inherently Southeast Asian, which the pandan plant is; but also something that was phonetically easy to pronounce and spell, no matter your first language or accent.”
Climbing new heights with intention
With Pandan Social, Woodroof’s career trajectory shifted from improvisation to intentional leadership. The agency’s early success was fuelled by a focus on TikTok content, which went viral and hit eight million views in a single month. “The next day, we had some of the biggest brands in not just the country, but the region, saying they want to work with us,” he says, beaming.
But even as demand surged, Woodroof remained selective. “I’m the first filter,” he claims. “If I don’t think we’ll like working with a client, they’ll never get to speak to my team.” That same modus operandi of evaluating chemistry – or what the internet calls vibe check – extends to the hiring process. “Culture is the number one thing that we protect. I don’t care if we lose money, if it means that my staff are happier and less burnt out.”
“Culture is the number one thing that we protect. I don’t care if we lose money, if it means that my staff are happier and less burnt out.”
Pandan Social’s milestones serve as validation for the people-first ethos they uphold. The first was their 2023 acquisition by Ruder Finn, which strengthened their global network while solidifying their position as a leading Malaysian digital marketing agency. More recently, they were named Marketing Interactive’s Digital Agency of the Year 2025.
“We beat so many other bigger agencies, and it was our first-ever award. When we saw photos of the team crying, that’s when it hit us – this really meant something,” Woodroof shares. Today, he leads a team of nearly 30 employees, a scale that has sharpened his focus on building the right structures to support both performance and well-being.
This perspective is deeply informed by his years in motorsports, where success was never individual. “You could be the world’s best racing driver, but if you don’t have the right team and processes around you, you’re not going to win the race,” he points out. “The goal is to provide that environment for them.”
One way this philosophy translates into practice is through PandAI, an internal AI tool developed to accelerate creative output without compromising craft. “Will it replace our main revenue streams? No,” he clarifies. “This was a tool that we developed out of necessity” – a small yet telling marker of how Pandan Social is preparing for greater growth.
Scaling the next summit
As Woodroof approaches 30, his appetite for new challenges shows little sign of slowing – though the way he manages them has evolved. For Pandan Social, that means moving beyond digital marketing to explore integrated PR services, while expanding its regional presence across Southeast Asia.
Outside the agency, Woodroof is also preparing to open a new cafe and launch an e-commerce startup selling fine art. These additions to his portfolio might seem impulsive on paper, but feel entirely on brand for someone who has never been content staying in one lane.
“Success to me now is having the freedom to step back and focus on specific job functions, while knowing my companies can still run efficiently,” he says. “I want to have, like, five companies and I want to be able to get eight hours of sleep and not get sick every single month.”
How does he plan on achieving all that? “Delegation, baby,” he replies simply. “I have a very clear vision of how things should be. But I’m going to hire the best people to do it, and that will free up a lot of my brain space.”
“Success to me now is having the freedom to step back and focus on specific job functions, while knowing my companies can still run efficiently.”
Today, he prioritises sustainable routines and strategic growth over the glorification of burnout – a lesson hard-won over years of juggling multiple roles and losing sleep. With that said, he doesn’t regret those early, demanding years. Being underpaid, overstretched, and constantly tested is precisely what equipped him with the instinct, resilience, and perspective he now carries into the next stage of his journey.
Ultimately, Woodroof’s concept of elevation is as personal as it is professional. It’s not necessarily about conquering a final peak, but about sustaining the climb – one that balances ambition with wellness, growth with intention, and curiosity with clarity. The real satisfaction, for him, is choosing the next summit.
Featured image: Woodroof wears a COS jacket with his own shirt and tie.
Editor, interview, and words: Natalie Khoo
Art direction: Driv, assisted by Imran Sulaiman and Victor Wong
Photography: Edmund Lee
Photography assistant: Zane Chang
Videography: Khairul Irsyaduddin
Video concept and subtitles: Charmaine Loh
Stylist: Nuha Adam
Hair and makeup: Asaki Yok