David Simonson is joint founder of Merlin. He has specialised in corporate and financial communications consultancy internationally for over 20 years, and has extensive expertise in Mergers, Acquisitions, Initial Public Offerings and broader strategic counsel.

A graduate of the University of Durham and a Master of Science of the University of London, he has worked with leading international consultancies including Valin Pollen and Gavin Anderson & Co. advising UK and International corporations including Airbus, EADS, Mittal Steel, Kazakhmys, Petropavlovsk and the Russian Stock Exchange MICEX. He has advised on the UK and Russian electricity privatisations and has been a strategic adviser to Airbus for over 15 years.

He is primarily responsible for strategic consulting in the Industrial, Aerospace, Defence, Mining and Energy sectors. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the Aviation Club.