David has over 30 years experience helping companies from start ups to large listed corporates to grow. He has held senior finance positions in companies across a number of sectors including HR consultancy, recruitment, financial markets, IT services, motor retailing and advertising. He is an individual mentor and team developer.
David is currently a non-executive director of a number of AIM companies. He brings with him strategic planning, corporate governance and broad operational experience. He is a team player and loves to help people develop their interests and talents. He became Chairman to help Meristem flourish.
Simona is one of our full-time workshop and installation operatives. Her broad skillset and positive approach makes her an invaluable addition to the workshop and install team.
Simona is particularly skilled at building the timber planters and out on site you'll see her putting together one of our many Parklets. In her spare time she loves to cook and spend time with her cats.
John joined our maintenance team in the spring of 2021, his love of conservation and nature is fuelled by his obsession for travel, he has been fortunate enough to visit many places including the Galápagos Islands, New Zealand and Cook Islands to name a few.
He has thrived on installing and maintaining our products around the country and is always happy to chat to local residents about Meristem Design’s passion for all things green.
In his spare time he is a keen footballer, cyclist and hiker, always preferring the outdoor life, hence holidays are now spent under canvas!
Ricardo’s journey into horticulture began during the pandemic, volunteering at the Grenfell Well-being Community Garden. There, he met the inspiring Meristem Team and discovered his passion for living walls and sustainable urban greenery.
With a foundation in Horticultural Principles & Practices from Walworth Gardens (RHS certified), Ricardo is dedicated to creating and maintaining greener urban spaces. He specialises in the upkeep of office plants and the preservation of living walls, ensuring these vertical gardens thrive in city and indoor environments.
As a dedicated vegan and nature lover, Ricardo aligns his lifestyle with his passion for the planet. He believes that incorporating nature into our daily lives not only enhances well-being but also promotes a more conscious way of living.
Shan heads up our Marketing department and thrives working on projects that add value to communities and make a real difference to our environment.
Shanice graduated from Bournemouth University with a degree in Marketing and Communications, going on to work for Bournemouth Council's communication team for many years, delivering a variety of projects to bring benefits to the area.
Now living in London, full time plant mum Shan loves being outdoors discovering all that nature has to offer, normally with a coffee on the go. She enjoys reading, finding hidden food gems and exploring around the city.
Ray graduated Kent University with a degree in Graphic Design and spent numerous years working with various design companies.
Since joining the Meristem team on a freelance basis in 2021, Ray has lent his creative eye on numerous green installations and assisted the maintenance team in keeping our London projects looking their best.
He has a keen eye and fondness for gardening, design and environmental initiatives. In his spare time, Ray lends his musical talents as drummer of Rock 'n' Roll band the Dead Red Jets!
Kesh finished an MA in novel writing and ventured into horticulture inspired by the relationship between people's environments and their quality of life.
His journey includes graduating in horticulture at Walworth Garden, hands-on experience at the conservation nursery at Kew Gardens, no-dig gardening at Hampton Court, creating wildlife habitats across London's Royal Parks and graduating in garden design at KLC. He's passionate about permaculture, ecology, sustainability and innovation.
Phil splits his time between the workshop in Kent and coordinating project installation on site. He has gathered a broad range of practical experience in the building trade over the past 10 years, this experience along with problem-solving skills make Phil a very handy addition to our workshop and install teams.
Phil has a love of being outdoors, especially with his Beagle Pippa and is a keen foodie, often cooking something delicious for the team when we're working away!
David has overseen the operations department since 2016 and has helped deliver numerous large scale projects in both the commercial and local authority sectors.
He graduated with a Geography degree with a focus on sustainability and the environment. Following on from this he worked in the sustainability and ethics department for the United Nations World Tourism Organisation in New York and Madrid. He then returned to London where he has remained in the sustainability sector working for a cycling infrastructure company and living wall business.
David has a passion for gardening and beekeeping; he heads up our operations team.
Nick is a qualified landscape designer with an extensive working knowledge of garden design and horticulture. Having led a team of installers and manufacturers for over two decades, Nick's comfortable habitat is being on site and ensuring the project gets delivered efficiently.
With a key interest in biophilia and the vast benefits of which plants give us, Nick's 20 years experience in product design is now focused on designing systems that make it possible for everyone from a home owner to an office dweller to have access to the beauty and benefits of plants.
Fraser graduated from Southampton Solent University with a degree in Business Management. He then moved into a role as a learning and development trainer in the corporate arena and also established Unique Outdoors, an outdoor adventure business based in Berkshire.
Since joining the team in 2020 he has attained ConstructionLine Gold certification for the business and introduced much of the health and safety process in line with industry and the HSE standards.
Fraser has had a passion for the environment and wildlife conservation from a young age and spends much of his spare time exploring nature hotspots and travelling in the UK or abroad whenever possible.
Jasper grew up living and working on an arable farm near Salisbury so he is no stranger to working outdoors. He also spent time working as a soil sampler before joining the team in 2023.
Jasper supports both the installation and maintenance teams on site around London and hopes to one day take on the family farm. You will find him playing or watching rugby and cricket in his spare time.
Wilf graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in Business Management. He has travelled and worked in Spain, Australia and South East Asia, working in agriculture.
He has over 7 years of experience in delivering large scale placemaking, accessible design and urban greening projects. Passionate about the environment, sustainability and nature and is looking forward to a career in helping make London greener.
He is also an enthusiastic beekeeper, veg grower and part time goat farmer.
Habib oversees our sales and marketing activities. After graduating he spent the first part of his life as a surveyor for two of the UK's largest surveying practices, Countrywide Surveyors and GVA Grimley.
He then decided to move into the sustainability sector and has been instrumental in some of London's landmark schemes. He spent over 10 years managing the UK's biggest car sharing company at the time City Car Club and the UK's first Bike Sharing scheme back in 2005.
His next big challenge is to help tackle London's poor air quality by the power of plants.
Llyal found his love for plants and gardening when he studied horticulture at Capel Manor, and he's been working in soft and hard landscaping ever since, for around 11 years.
He is a big film fan, horror & Sci- Fi would be his favourite genre, so you'll always find him at the cinema watching a movie. Sports are another big passion, particularly football. He is a faithful Arsenal supporter, so he loves watching them play every time he gets the chance.
Nina is passionate about the transformative power of nature in enhancing urban spaces. Since 2016, alongside her studies at the RHS and City & Guilds, she has been designing, planting, and maintaining living walls nationwide. Her work for Meristem clients includes projects featured at the RHS Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows.
Before focusing on green design, Nina produced documentaries on environmental and social issues for Channel Four, the BBC, and international agencies. She holds a PhD in New Media from the University of the Arts London and has taught Design and Innovation at Ravensbourne University.
Today, Nina drives residential and office portfolios, while inspiring schools to embrace biodiversity and sustainability through ‘Reconnecting Children with Nature’.
Matt is our commercial lead at Meristem and brings 4 years of experience in the start up space working with two of the UK’s top startups in reproductive health. He made the switch to Meristem to follow his passion for sustainability, urban greening and climate resilience innovation.
Matt is originally from Noosa on the Sunshine Coast in Australia and loves the great outdoors - shark diving, kayaking with orca and seeing grizzly bear in Yellowstone park have been a few highlights.
In his spare time, you’ll probably find Matt in one of London’s many green spaces with his Golden Retriever, Goose or playing Australian rules Football.
Scott graduated from the Open University with a degree in Design and Innovation. Following this he worked freelance on a vast array of varying products and projects, developing a wealth of knowledge in design and manufacturing. Furthermore, with a creative background in art, has also worked on numerous artwork projects.
With a strong passion in sustainability and horticulture, he is extremely enthusiastic about implementing and developing designs with a low carbon footprint that maximise the use of plant life.
Scott is also the chairman of Barking and Dagenham Canoe Club, running and racing for the club as well as helping residents of a low socio-economic area access the sport.
Viorel moved from Italy to London four years ago, however, previously he lived in his home country of Romania. It therefore comes as no surprise that he is multilingual, speaking a total of seven different languages! He heads up our installation team.
Viorel and his team get the final product over the line, doing everything from installing green screens, parklets, living walls, planters, you name it. Viorel loves seeing the end product of each project, when it is admired and utilised by the public.
Jenna graduated from Kingston University, studying English Literature & Media Studies she now provides fundamental support with our Operations and Projects department. As well as this, she often is seen assisting with photo content, nature workshops and general support for the whole team.
She has travelled throughout Europe and spent a year working and travelling in Canada. During her time in B.C, her passion for plants and nature intensified. Having always had an interest in gardening and plants, working among nature in Canada further rooted her passion and drive towards eco-sustainability.
In her spare time, she enjoys walks with the dogs, gardening, cooking and being creative.
Marian coordinates our premises in Kent and keeps everything at our 6,000 sq ft workshop running smoothly on a day-to-day basis. He is a skilled fabricator, fixer and woodworker and keeps the pace forward driven with the team.
Marian is constantly on the lookout for ways of improving our workshop operations to make things safer and more efficient. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his son, woodworking, riding his bike and of course, gardening.
George graduated from Exeter University with a degree in Zoology, focussing on sustainability. He has travelled through South America, Australasia and SouthEast Asia, volunteering at animal sanctuaries.
He is passionate about nature and our environment, especially when it comes to hiking, swimming and exploring. Now back in London, he spends his spare time volunteering at community gardens, or discovering new pockets of nature on his bike.
Like the rest of the team, he's an avid gardener, and is looking forward to a career in helping make London greener.
Alex graduated from Loughborough Design School with a degree in Industrial Design and Technology and diploma in professional studies.
With a background in both product and commercial interior design, he has years of experience in the preparation of client facing illustrations and visuals to help bring design ideas to life.
Alex heads up Meristem’s design department and was recently awarded the Pro Landscapers 30under30 award.
He enjoys travelling and has been to much of Asia, Australasia, Africa and Europe.