Senior Leadership Team

Our Senior Leadership Team (SLT) is headed up by our Founder, Dean Merlo and long-time business partner James Wilkinson. Many of our SLT have been with Merlo for over 10 years.

Dean Merlo’s story is a classic tale that began when his father immigrated to Australia from Italy in 1958 bringing with him Queensland’s first espresso coffee machine.

In the years that followed, Dean made a monumental leap from Barrister to Barista that changed Queensland’s coffee culture forever. A Solicitor by profession he saw the opportunity for a CBD espresso coffee bar, similar to those he had frequented in Europe and New York.

The rest is history, Dean and the Merlo Coffee team has since grown to become Australia’s leading independently owned and operated coffee roasters with 16 company stores in addition to supplying more than 1,000 cafés and restaurants around Australia and shipping coffee online throughout the world.

COFFEE OF CHOICE | Double Shot Latte

James started his career in Town Planning at a top London financial firm. After a brief trip to Australia in 1999, he permanently relocated to Brisbane and joined Merlo Coffee.

James started out as part of the warehouse team, and from there, he worked his way up to become the Head of Sales & Retail. In 2006 he was appointed Director of Merlo.

He held the role of CEO from 2013-2024, where he successfully led the expansion of the company’s retail store network and delivered a highly successful wholesale sales program.

'Merlo is a customer service company that just happens to sell coffee. Everything we do is for the customer'.

COFFEE OF CHOICE | Mezzo Mezzo

David commenced with Merlo in 2020 as General Manager. Switching jobs during a global pandemic might not be for everyone, but when the opportunity arose, he jumped at it. In 2024 he was promoted to his current role as Chief Operating Officer.

David has more than 20 years of experience in the FMCG industry, having previously worked at Real Dairy Australia and Goodman Fielder.

'At Merlo, I have the opportunity to draw on all my experience to influence the direction of the business, working with a team that thrives on innovation and ingenuity.'

COFFEE OF CHOICE | Mezzo Mezzo on Forza

Jon started his career with Merlo 11 years ago, when he joined as Chief Financial Officer.

Jon came to Merlo with a strong finance background, having previously worked in the private equity and publishing industries.

Jon is the quiet achiever of the Senior Management Team.

COFFEE OF CHOICE | Long Black with Milk

Tom joined Merlo Coffee in April 2025 as Chief Financial Officer, bringing with him extensive experience in finance transformation and strategic business improvement.

Prior to joining Merlo, Tom was part of McGrathNicol’s Strategy and Performance Improvement team, where he specialised in optimising financial performance. Tom’s strategic insight and financial leadership plays a key role in supporting Merlo’s continued growth and evolution.

COFFEE OF CHOICE | Long Black

Louisa began her Merlo journey in 2010, starting at our Bowen Hills retail store, and then progressing through the ranks to Shift Manager, 2IC, and finally Store Manager.

In 2014 Louisa moved into Junior Operations Manager and in 2019 became the Head of Retail.

In this role, Louisa oversees 17 Retail stores in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Springfield, and Toowoomba including 350 staff. She works closely with our GM and CEO to ensure the smooth running of this important part of the business.

I am lucky enough to have the support of each and every business unit at Merlo, and know that it takes a village to run Retail.

COFFEE OF CHOICE | Double Shot Flat White

Troy is a results-driven sales professional with over 20 years’ experience. He began his career working in the FMCG and Customer Service sectors and soon became an expert in all things retail, hospitality, food and beverage and consumer products.

In 2008, Troy joined the Merlo Sales team and soon worked his way to become Head of Sales. He has created a high-performing Sales team who consistently exceed departmental goals.

As well as being a highly respected leader, Troy has a warm and fun demeanor, whose optimism is contagious.

COFFEE OF CHOICE | Piccolo

Pip joined Merlo Coffee as eCommerce Specialist and quickly transitioned to Head of eCommerce, bringing extensive expertise to the role.

With over 20 years of experience in marketing, Pip has held several high-impact roles, including Marketing Manager at Visit Sunshine Coast and at Tourism Australia. In these roles, she focused on promoting key destinations—both domestically and internationally—as attractive locations for business events and incentive travel. Her work helped position these regions as premier destinations for conferences, corporate retreats, and business tourism.

More recently, Pip ran her own eCommerce marketing consultancy, where she specialised in developing strategies that support online business growth, customer acquisition, and long-term brand development.

COFFEE OF CHOICE | Almond Piccolo

Nic joined the Merlo crew in September 2024 as the Chief Marketing Officer.

She has more than 20 years experience in the FMCG industry across a multitude of Sales and Marketing roles. She has worked both domestically and globally, most recently in the Global Marketing team at Mars Wrigley as the Global Innovation Director based in London. Previous to that she worked in the Global Digital Marketing Acceleration team based in Chicago.

She is a curious and innovative transformation leader that loves to reinvent brands, build strong industry partnerships, and find the growth hacks that businesses need to fuel the next stage of growth.

COFFEE OF CHOICE | Piccolo

Louise began her role with Merlo in April 2022. She came to the team with over 15 years experience in Human Resources, the last 13 of these were with Michael Hill in HR and Operations.

‘One of the things I love about my job is helping others to grow and develop into great leaders. I really enjoy seeing others succeed and realise their potential.

Also, we get to do some pretty cool things along the way while recognising and celebrating success.’

COFFEE OF CHOICE | Long Black

Simon has been with Merlo for over 20 years, amassing extensive knowledge in all things coffee. He has achieved the distinguished status of a licensed Q Grader, the highest certification in the coffee industry.

As Merlo’s Head of Operations, Simon managed the entire bean purchasing, roasting, and distribution process. In 2024, he transitioned to a new role as the Projects and Coffee Quality Manager.

'Coffee has become my passion and something that gets me out of bed in the morning... and not just for the caffeine! Working with different coffee flavours, countries of origin, processing techniques and brewing methods means there's always something new to learn and never a dull moment.'

COFFEE OF CHOICE | Flat White

With nearly 15 years of experience in customer service across a variety of industries, Cath brings a wealth of knowledge—and a spark of vivacious energy—to every interaction.

Since joining Merlo in November 2023, she’s built and led an exceptional customer service team that’s not only laser-focused on customer satisfaction but has also played a key role in driving revenue growth. Cath’s upbeat spirit and commitment to excellence make her a powerhouse behind Merlo’s customer-first culture.

COFFEE OF CHOICE | Piccolo

OUR ROASTING FACILITY

In 2021, we constructed the new Merlo state-of-the-art roaster facility. The $3 million workhorse is located atour Eagle Farm warehouse, and is capable of more than just roasting. It is an all encompassing solution that creates many efficiencies at all stages of the roasting process, from the storage of green beans to the finished product.

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