Merton Society Council

The Rt Hon Dame Philippa Whipple DBE (President)
Dame Philippa read Law at Merton from 1984 to 1987. She qualified as a solicitor in 1989 and spent several years at Freshfields before moving to the Bar in 1994, where she practised from 1 Crown Office Row. As a barrister, she specialised in healthcare law, judicial review and tax, becoming a QC in 2010. She was appointed a High Court Judge in 2015. In addition to her work as a judge, she was a commissioner at the Judicial Appointments Commission from 2016 to 2019, and a Presiding Judge of the South Eastern Circuit from 2018-2021, leading that circuit at the height of the pandemic. She was appointed to the Court of Appeal in November 2021. She is a bencher of Middle Temple, a former chair of that Inn’s finance and resources committee, and an honorary fellow of Merton College.

Dr Gregory Lim (Secretary)
Gregory studied for a DPhil in Cardiovascular Medicine at Merton from 2006 to 2010, having previously read physiological sciences at Exeter College. He was President of the MCR in 2007-2008. After graduating, he joined the editorial team of Nature Reviews Cardiology, a monthly scientific journal covering the breadth of cardiovascular research and clinical cardiology. Since 2015, he has been the chief editor of the journal. Gregory is the secretary of the Merton Society Council.

Mr Mark Davison (Chairman)
Mark read PPE at Merton and is an investment banker with recent direct experience in the FinTech space. Graduating in 1981 he went straight into the City, starting work as an economist at the merchant bank Morgan Grenfell & Co. Limited. He moved into their corporate finance department and began a long career in Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets, where he specialised in advising major financial institutions in the UK and across Europe. Subsequently he worked at Credit Suisse, Fox-Pitt Kelton, KPMG and Natixis. Most recently he is CEO UK at Raisin DS, the deposit platform. He is a trustee of SANE, the leading mental health charity.

Mustafa Abbas
As an undergraduate, Mustafa read PPE at Merton and was fortunate to learn (by 'interrogation') from some of the greatest minds in their fields: Vijay Joshi, John Lucas, David Bostock and Don Markwell. During his time at College, and with a desire to help the student body, he became JCR President. As an avid rower, he also served as Captain of Boats and spent many happy days on the River Cherwell.

With such fond memories of Merton, Mustafa was delighted to return for an executive MBA, after having spent some years working in financial firms.

Nick Allard
Nick studied PPE at Merton, matriculating in 1974. He is the Former President and Joseph Crea Dean of Brooklyn Law School, where he remains Professor of Law Emeritus, and is Senior Counsel at Dentons, the world’s largest law firm. As well as other charitable and educational roles, he is an Advisor at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, Secretary of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars and on the Board of Advisors of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America.

Nick is President of the Merton College Charitable Corporation (the alumni organisation for Mertonians in the Americas) and an ex officio member of the Merton Society Council. He is also a Bodley Fellow of Merton.

John Booth
John read Modern Languages at Merton and is a Wyliot Fellow, chairing the College’s Development Board until June 2022. He is Chairman of the National Gallery and of The Prince’s Trust; a trustee of the Chatsworth Settlement, the Arts Foundation and a number of other charities. John also acts as an ambassador for the homelessness charity DePaul International and is Deputy Lieutenant of West Sussex.

In his working life, John is an entrepreneur who chairs a number of public and private companies including Maintel plc and the London Theatre Company. He is also a non-executive director of several investment management businesses and has a range of venture capital interests in e-commerce, media and telecommunications.

Alan Bott
Alan read History at Merton from 1953 to 1956. He was a Postmaster and subsequently Bodley Fellow. From 1956-1996 Alan worked for P&O S N Co, and for 20 years he was Director of P&O Containers (ANZ).He has published many books about Merton, including: Monuments in Merton College Chapel (1964), Baptisms & Marriages in Merton College Chapel (1979), The Heraldry in Merton College (2000) and A longer History of the Buildings & Furnishings of Merton College (2015).

David Clark
David went up to Merton in 1984 to read Chemistry. After postgraduate studies at the University of Sheffield, he embarked upon a career in the pharmaceutical industry, specialising in computer-aided drug design. He is married to Barbara and they have a grown-up son. Outside work, he enjoys walking, reading, listening to progressive rock music and volunteering with the Christian charity “Good News for Everyone!” He greatly values his connections with Merton as a Year Representative, a Merton Society Council member and through the Merton Biomedical and Life Sciences Network, which he helped to institute in 2020.

Meriel Cowan
Meriel (professionally known as Dr Meriel Raine) is a GP in Oxford. She studied preclinical Medicine at Merton (1983-86), finishing her training in London. She spent some time training in surgery before seeing the light and switching to General Practice, and she has been a partner at 19 Beaumont St Surgery for 21 years. She is also named GP for safeguarding for Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group. She and her husband Simon (a fellow Mertonian) have three grown-up sons.

Timothy Foot
Timothy read Classics as an undergraduate at Merton, having matriculated in 2011. He stayed for an MPhil in Classical Languages and Literature and was President of the MCR in 2014-15. After leaving Merton, he read for Law finals at Harris Manchester College and is now a pupil barrister specialising in commercial chancery work. He also has an interest in constitutional law, and is the co-author of Executive Power: The Prerogative Past, Present and Future (Hart, 2022).

Alistair Haggerty

The Revd Canon Dr Simon Jones
Simon has been Chaplain of Merton since 2002. As well as being responsible for the day-to-day life of the Chapel, Simon also co-ordinates the various College welfare bodies and the Compassionate Fund.

Dr Gautam Kalani
Gautam studied for an MSc in Economics for Development at Merton in 2009-10, after which he completed a DPhil in Economics at Hertford College in 2013. Since then he has been working in finance in London, first at Deutsche Bank and then as a Portfolio Manager at BlueBay Asset Management (focusing on foreign exchange and emerging markets). Outside work, he is a keen squash player and an avid watcher of cricket and football. He is married and has a young son.

Ria Miller
Ria matriculated in 2008 and read for an MSc in Environmental Change and Management. She is currently writing and illustrating children's books on sustainably. She is lucky to be living close to Merton, having stayed in Oxford working in a variety of roles in conservation and climate change as well as training as a teacher. She enjoys keeping as active as possible and has taken part in the Town and Gown race for the College and the Blenheim triathlon. Ria joined the Council in 2015 and has led on the communication strategy, her favourite part being the planning of the treasure hunt for the family fun event!  

Teniola Onabanjo
Teniola matriculated in 2004. She read Law as an undergraduate at Merton and then stayed for the BCL. She is now is a commercial barrister, practicing from 3VB in Gray’s Inn, with particular specialisms in banking, financial services and insurance. Teniola lives in Berkshire with her family and enjoys reading and singing in her free time.

Robert Peberdy
Robert Peberdy read Modern History at Merton (1975–8) and later obtained a doctorate as a part-time student of Leicester University (1995), studying medieval urban history. He has worked in book packaging (for Equinox (Oxford) Ltd), and for the Victoria County History of Oxfordshire. He served as Secretary of the Merton Society from 2002 to 2014. He has published, inter alia, contributions to Treasures of Merton College (ed. by Steven Gunn, 2013) and A Dictionary of British and Irish History (co-editor with Philip Waller, 2020). He is related to Thomas Paybody (Merton 1612–18).

Emily Pope
Emily read Classics at Merton (2017-2021) and now works as a Parliamentary Assistant and Army Reservist. Inspired by the plaque to deceased WW1 soldier and Merton student Cecil Jones in her final year room (Grove 2.4), she firmly believes in the sense of connection between all Mertonians past, present and future. Having been an active member of the College community as an undergraduate, from JCR Welfare Officer to Chapel Choir to Boat Club, Emily hopes to pay it forward as an alumna: to celebrate this community, strengthen old ties and create new ones.

Maria Pretzler
Maria Pretzler arrived at Merton from Austria in 1996 to do her DPhil in Ancient History. Following temporary positions at St John’s College and Somerville she moved to Swansea in 2005 to take up a permanent academic post in Ancient History. Maria is still there, now as Associate Professor, and mainly teaches Ancient Greek History from the late Bronze Age to the Roman imperial period. Her main research interests are ancient geography and travel writing, and the ancient history and society of the Peloponnese.

Alice Salvage
Alice Salvage matriculated in 2008, reading Ancient and Modern History. She subsequently graduated from Columbia University with an MA in American Studies, focusing on mid-twentieth century American film. After periods spent working in independent film in the US and for BBC Studios, she joined Channel 4, where she works in production finance across Comedy and Drama.

Dan Schaffer
Dan matriculated in 1986 to read for the BCL. As well as being on the Council, he is the 1986 postgraduate Year Representative. Professionally, he is a solicitor and practises as a partner in the law firm Slaughter and May. He also does some Trusts law teaching for Merton undergraduates and judges the second-year mooting competition. He is a keen cyclist, married with three sons (two at university in the US) and lives in London.

Anna Smith

Naga Suresh
Naga read for an MBA at Merton in 2021-22. He currently works in the sustainability consulting practice at Guidehouse, a management consultancy. He has worked in India, Africa, and the UK in strategy and marketing roles for private sector organisations. With an avid interest in climate and decarbonisation, he’s engaged in various projects that help corporations and public sector entities reimagine their business models to build resilience against the impact of climate change. He lives with his partner in Oxford, and spends his free time pursuing interests in languages, history, and architecture. 

Bassel Tarbush
Bassel is a microeconomic theorist and a Tutor in Economics at Merton. He studied Philosophy and Economics at University College London for his undergraduate degree before completing his graduate studies in Economics at Oxford. He is the SCR Representative on the Merton Society Council.

Nick Weller
Nick matriculated in 1982 and read History and Economics. After Merton, he qualified as a chartered accountant and has spent most of his career in professional education. He is currently a freelance author, writing on a number of business-related subjects, and examiner for a global accountancy institute. Outside work, he enjoys reading, non-strenuous walking and watching cricket. He is the Year Representative for 1982.

Jonathan Young
Jonathan matriculated in 1993 and studied Mathematics under Professors Dominic Welsh, Ulrike Tillmann and Luke Ong. After leaving Merton, he did an MSc at Southampton and then worked at the Bank of England. He is currently a statistician in the Civil Service. He lives in Andover, Hampshire with his wife and daughter.