Managing Partner, NOW. Former Head of Open Innovation and Circularity at Danone. Advisory board member, Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Future Food Institute. Regenerative Economy Fellow at Natural Capitalism Solutions. Facilitates the paradigmatic shift to a regenerative future that reconnects Economy and Ecology. Circular Economy scholar and lecturer.

Merijn has nearly two decades of experience in systemic innovation. For over 17 years Merijn worked as a change agent and intrapreneur from within the food industry, specializing in Circular Economy and the Regenerative Paradigm. He led the intersection of the transition towards a Regenerative Future, (as the expression of a new intent) and Open Innovation, (as the adaptive power of business) for Danone across the globe.

As an Industrial Designer, and one of the first and few Circular Economy scholars to specialize in the food system, he strives to increase discernment and develop the adoption of the regenerative paradigm in food and beyond, every day.

As an ambassador and change agent, Merijn connects people, builds bridges, and breaks barriers. By reframing and drafting a picture of boundless possibility, he sets out to inspire, unleash and accelerate positive change.

He has made it his mission to be a driving force in a systemic revolution, a paradigmatic shift, as the source of a new socio-ecological system. He aims to leave a world in which economical, social and ecological interests are aligned. 

Merijn is the founder of OikoScope, a lecturer on regenerative business and circular economy at HEC Paris, a co-convener of the Future Economy Forum, a member of the finance task force of the UN Environment Program and FAO’s Decade on Ecosystems Restoration, a member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Food Advisory Board, a Regenerative Economy Fellow at Natural Capitalism Solutions, an advisory board member of Thought for Food, an advisory board member of the Future Food Institute, and a member of the Google Food Lab.  

He holds a Bachelor’s in Design Engineering from The Hague University and an MBA in Circular Economy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship from Bradford School of Management.