Ignacio "Nacho" Mérida Isla, DVM, MBA, MRCVS, CertAVP

Ignacio Mérida is a veterinarian, business advisor, and consultant with experience spanning clinical practice, veterinary management, and practice operations. After earning his veterinary degree from the University of Zaragoza in 2000, he conducted dairy cattle research at Utrecht University in the Netherlands before moving to the United Kingdom, where he worked as an emergency veterinarian and later provided first-opinion care as a locum veterinarian. He later expanded his expertise by earning an MBA from the School of Economics Villanueva at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in 2009 and a Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice in internal medicine from the University of Liverpool in 2015.

Mérida is the founder of Assis Veterinary Business Advisor, a consultancy focused on helping veterinary practices improve efficiency, financial performance, and long-term sustainability while supporting better work-life balance for veterinary professionals. He is an author, speaker, and educator on veterinary business management, having written multiple books and articles on practice leadership, marketing, and operations. He also hosts the Diario de un Veterinario Gestor blog and a veterinary management vlog on YouTube, and regularly lectures throughout Spain and Latin America. His work includes developing tools to help veterinary clinics evaluate the impact of social media and apply data-driven strategies tailored to their markets.