Mandana Dayani

Mandana Rivka Dayani (born May 1, 1982) is an Iranian-American marketing and brand expert. She was the president of Archewell, the media and philanthropic company founded by Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, until 2023. Dayani is also an attorney and has held various business leadership roles in the fashion, entertainment, tech, and media industries and is a regular contributor on Morning Joe on MSNBC. Dayani is a human rights activist and speaks regularly on activism, leadership, and antisemitism.

Early life and education
Dayani was born in Tehran. She fled from Iran with her Persian Jewish family to Ladispoli, Italy, before being granted asylum as religious refugees to the United States through the help of the HIAS. She first settled in New York City before moving to Los Angeles. Dayani attended the University of Southern California, where she received her bachelor's degree and went on to earn her Juris Doctor from the USC Gould School of Law, where she was awarded the USC Summer Fellowship.

Early career
Dayani started her career as an attorney at Paul Hastings LLP, specializing in the hotel and hospitality industry.

She later transitioned to commercial talent representation, where she represented celebrities including fashion stylist Rachel Zoe, becoming her client. Dayani then joined Rachel Zoe, Inc., as head of the company overseeing the launch of several businesses, including the Rachel Zoe Collection, The Zoe Report, Curateur, and Rachel Zoe Ventures, as well as managing licensing, publishing, endorsements, and television production. She produced a few seasons of Bravo's The Rachel Zoe Project and appeared in the show for three seasons as well.

In 2015, Dayani left Rachel Zoe, Inc. to become the chief brand officer of the online marketplace for estate sales, Everything But The House. She played a significant role in securing an 84 million dollar venture capital investment and served as the executive producer of their TV project for HGTV.

Business ventures
Dayani was the president of Archewell from May 2021 to December 2022. She led growth strategy and day-to-day operations of Archewell, which included the media businesses Archewell Audio and Archewell Productions and the non-profit Archewell Foundation. During this time, Archewell launched Archetypes on Spotify, the documentary Harry & Meghan on Netflix, Spare by Prince Harry, and philanthropic endeavors.

Dayani also founded The Learning Series, an event series for women leaders, and serves as an angel investor investing in consumer, beauty, and biotech brands.

I Am a Voter
In 2018, Dayani co-founded I Am a Voter, a nonpartisan organization aimed at promoting civic engagement and increasing voter turnout. The organization was founded by 20 volunteer women and the Creative Artists Agency. It has partnered with many well-known brands, including the NBA, Disney, NFL, ABC, H&M, Tom Ford, Bumble, and Urban Outfitters. Their campaign to boost voter registration has included many celebrities and athletes. Upon launch, their campaign generated over 1 billion digital impressions and 250 media articles.

Antisemitism Activism
Dayani has spoken out the experience of Jews and growing antisemitism. Her experience as a religious refugee from Iran, where her family fled from persecution with the help of HIAS is one of the key inspirations behind her activism. Dayani was dubbed a “Jewish Champion” on the cover of the Jewish Journal LA with Debra Messing in June 2023. Dayani's video about the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel was viewed approximately 50 million times. She was also named as one of the Top 100 Influential Jews for the Jewish Year 5782 (2021–22) and Year 5783 (2022-2023), by The Tel Aviv Institute. She spoke on the attack at the United Nations.

She regularly appears on MSNBC to comment on the impact of antisemitism on Jews in the diaspora. In January 2024, Dayani spoke at a rally in Tel Aviv to commemorate 100 days of the hostages who were taken on Oct. 7th being held in Gaza. In March 2024, Dayani received the Social Action Award from the National Council of Jewish Women. In addition, Dayani released an interview with Moran Stela Yanai, a 40 year old jewelry designer who was kidnapped and released after 54 days in captivity in Gaza. In April 2024, Dayani spoke at a rally in Ithaca, NY at Cornell University where she stood in solidarity with Jewish students nationwide against antisemitism on their campuses.

Media appearances
Dayani has spoken on activism, leadership, voting, and antisemitism, including at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit, Forbes 30/50 Summit in Abu Dhabi with Hillary Clinton, Gloria Steinem, Billie Jean King, and Olena Zelenska, and Global Citizen.

In 2020, Dayani, together with friend Debra Messing, launched The Dissenters podcast with Dear Media. The podcast features interviews with advocates for social issues, including Glennon Doyle, Sophia Bush, Hillary Clinton, Jane Fonda, Adam Schiff, Amanda Nguyen, Lena Waithe, Preet Bharara, Jameela Jamil, Christian Siriano, Shannon Watts, Eva Longoria, and Patrisse Cullors.