Toby Neilson has been appointed principal director of BDG, Landor’s architecture and spatial design agency.
Neilson has over a decade of leadership experience at BDG and has worked in the UK, Spain and Brazil. His background includes managing international projects.
During the past six years at BDG, Neilson has led campus projects for WPP, including transformations of a telephone exchange in Madrid, a ceramics factory in Milan, and the Rivierstaete building in Amsterdam. His work on London’s Southbank includes projects such as Sea Containers, Rose Court, and One Southwark Bridge.
Neilson’s experience encompasses private residential projects and large-scale masterplans, focusing on economic viability, social impact and sustainable design. His appointment aligns with Landor’s strategy to connect BDG’s architecture and spatial team with broader brand-building expertise in various sectors to create design solutions.
He will report to Liz Wilson, chief integration officer at Landor, and is stepping up to replace former MD and CEO Matt Jackson, who left BDG in April 2025.
Wilson said: ‘As we scale and integrate Landor’s specialist capabilities, Toby has shown he can lead a more expansive BDG, drawing on Landor’s global depth of spatial and experiential talent to deliver against our clients’ changing ambitions. He steps up at an inflection point in the market, where after many years of focus on digital transformation and digital channels, we’re seeing renewed client focus and energy on maximising the brand and cultural opportunities of physical spaces and in person experience.’
Neilson added: ‘BDG has always stood out for its ability to reimagine space with intelligence, creativity and purpose. We’re focused on delivering architecture and design that’s not only high-performing and sustainable, but also deeply aligned with the identity and ambitions of the organisations we work with. I’m looking forward to building on that legacy and continuing to shape spaces and places that make a meaningful impact.’
