Greensphere Capital appoints Prof Monique Simmonds OBE as Senior Scientific Advisor

February 2026 (London) – Greensphere Capital has appointed Prof Monique Simmonds OBE as Senior Scientific Advisor, strengthening the firm’s scientific leadership as it continues to build and scale its Gaia Sciences Innovation strategy.

Prof Simmonds is a globally recognised leader in botanical science, natural-product chemistry, and biodiversity research, with over 40 years of scientific experience. She spent more than three decades in senior leadership roles at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, including as Director of Science, where she oversaw world-leading research programmes spanning taxonomy, molecular biology, bioinformatics, conservation and natural-product research.

During her tenure at Kew, Prof Simmonds led major international research programmes across agriculture, global biodiversity, and plant-derived technologies, working with partners across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. She has authored more than 350 scientific publications and has extensive experience evaluating early-stage technologies, with a particular focus on scientific reproducibility, data integrity, and pathways to commercial validation.

In her role as Senior Scientific Advisor, Prof Simmonds will support Greensphere’s investment strategy by providing independent scientific oversight through its Investment Committee and in its investment opportunities, convening scientific panels during our due diligence processes and providing oversight to these panels to ensure that investment decisions are underpinned by rigorous, high-integrity science.

Her appointment strengthens the Fund’s scientific governance and reflects its continued commitment to disciplined, science-led investment as it matures and scales.

Divya Seshamani, Managing Partner of Greensphere Capital, said:

“GSI was founded on the belief that rigorous, defensible science can solve critical commercial problems and deliver meaningful and lasting climate and biodiversity outcomes. There are few scientific leaders who combine the depth of expertise, experience in evaluating research quality and risk, and understanding of how scientific innovation translates into commercial outcomes that this moment demands. Monique brings all these qualities, and we are delighted to welcome her to support GSI’s investment strategy.”

Prof Simmonds commented:

“I am very interested in seeing how scientists can develop their ideas and technologies that help mitigate against the challenges of climate change as well as biodiversity loss.  GSI provides an opportunity to not only review these ideas but also support how they can be developed to increase impact. I am honoured to be asked to be involved in supporting Greensphere identify these ideas and take them beyond peer-reviewed academic papers.”