International Women's Leadership Forum - Europe 2020

Judith Garritzmann

Senior associate general counsel, Elanco

Judith is sr. associate general counsel global business development and legal integration lead at Elanco Animal Health. IP is a core factor and driver in Elanco’s business development. With the international business development team, Judith is shaping the future of animal healthcare with external innovation of all kinds including early research, license agreements, cooperation’s and acquisitions. Prior to Elanco, Judith worked for Fujitsu Technology Solutions and Weil Gotshal. Judith is a strong supporter of the advancement of women with no limitations due to gender, location or other factors.

 Speaking session 

Leadership and building for the next generation

14.15 GMT

Sharon Harrison

Trade mark counsel - brand protection, Mondelez International

Biography coming soon.

 Speaking session 

Learnings from industry: managing your IP in a volatile and challenging landscape

09.30 GMT

Victoria Head

Head of legal - commercial, The FA Group

Victoria Head has been with The FA for almost 10 years and heads up the commercial legal team. During that time she has worked on a vast range of commercial transactions, including the 12 year England kit deal with Nike, the lead sponsor partnership for England and Wembley Stadium with BT and The FA’s game changing six year overseas FA Cup broadcast deals with IMG and Pitch International. The past six months have thrown up a range of complex and challenging legal issues for Victoria’s team, including the commercial fallout arising from the suspension of domestic and international football, the issues involved with completing the 19/20 season behind closed doors, and the changes needed to facilitate the return of fans at matches.

 Speaking session 

Leadership and building for the next generation

14.15 GMT

Sheila Henderson

Chief intellectual property counsel, Richemont

Sheila Henderson joined Richemont in 2006. She is a UK qualified solicitor who has spent time working for Unilever in the UK and Netherlands, Mars, Reckitt Benckiser and is currently chief intellectual property counsel for the Richemont Group. Sheila’s role involves management, prosecution, enforcement and litigation work for the company’s leading maisons; Cartier, MontBlanc, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chloe and IWC, on a global basis. This includes the development of IP portfolios, IP licensing, IP risk mitigation, industry standards development strategy, offensive & defensive IP assertion projects and other IP related projects. Sheila is also responsible for the group’s digital legal team.

 Speaking session 

Diversity and inclusion in IP

11.00 GMT

Amira Mukhtar

Counsel Europe – IP, patents & technology, Mars

Amira Mukhtar is Counsel Europe, IP for Mars Wrigley, with over 10 years’ in-house IP experience.

She graduated from the University of Liverpool with a First-Class honour’s degree in Chemistry with Pharmacology and a Doctorate in Medicinal Chemistry. During her undergraduate studies she was awarded several prizes including the British Petroleum Practical prize, the Edith Kearton prize and the Chemistry with Pharmacology award for best performance. Her interest in IP was sparked during her PhD studies when developing a new class of aminoquinoline based antimalarial drugs and being exposed to the process for drawing up a patent application.

Amira has held a broad range of strategic roles including leading in-house IP for the FMCG sector, specialising in the Food & Confectionery industry with some of the world’s largest multinational companies as a European Patent Attorney and IP Manager. More recently, she joined Mars Wrigley confectionery business as Counsel Europe, Intellectual Property. She leads and develops business aligned, commercially focused protection strategies, partnering with global teams such as R&D, commercial, supply and marketing as well senior business stakeholders including board members, developing and prosecuting global patent portfolios including design rights, managing patent budgets, managing outside counsel, drafting patent applications, providing Freedom-to-operate clearances, licensing, managing EPO oppositions, Mergers & Acquisitions as well as divestitures, IP due diligences, managing and negotiating a wide range of agreements.

In 2019, Amira joined Mars Inc. a family owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With almost $35 billion in sales, the company is a global business that produces some of the world’s best-loved brands: M&M’s® SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN’s®, MARS DRINKS and COCOAVIA®.

 Speaking session 

COVID-19: IP responses and mitigation tactics

13.00 GMT

Emily O'Neill,

General counsel, UK, Deminor

Dr Emily O’Neill is the general counsel UK for Deminor, a European headquartered litigation fund. Emily leads the IP underwriting for the fund. She is an experienced and strategic litigator having held positions managing global disputes both leading an in-house team at Spectris and in private practice at Bird & Bird, London. Emily has broad intellectual property experience, both directing IP policy and strategy as well as managing IP portfolios, risk and enforcement. She has been named as a corporate IP Star and sits on the In-House Advisory Committee of AIPPI as well as the In-House Division Committee of The Law Society of England and Wales.

 Speaking session 

COVID-19: IP responses and mitigation tactics

13.00 GMT

Simona Popa

Senior director, InterDigital

Simona Popa joined the InterDigital government affairs team in February 2020. She brings almost 17 years of professional experience in public policy, lobbying and government relations. Prior to joining InterDigital, Simona worked for nearly seven years at AT&T and Warner Media (formerly known as Time Warner) as executive director, public policy Europe dealing with a large number of issues around media, telecom and internet legislation. In her role, Simona helped define and execute policy, advocacy and regulatory strategies and drive large industry coalition-building efforts while working closely with key decision-makers externally and internally with various business units in AT&T, HBO, Turner and Warner Bros. During this time, she also served as vice-chair of the intellectual property committee at AmCham EU, which represents the interests of over 160 US and European companies. She continue to hold this position in her new InterDigital role. Among other previous roles, Simona also served as European affairs adviser at the Association of Commercial Television in Europe where she dealt primarily with audiovisual media, telecom and intellectual property rights issues at EU, national and international level.

Simona has extensive knowledge in the EU decision-making processes and has worked closely with EU, national and international institutions and government bodies.

 Speaking session 

COVID-19: IP responses and mitigation tactics

13.00 GMT

Sue Ratcliffe

Director, IP & knowledge management – global technology & innovation, Synthomer

Biography coming soon.

 Speaking session 

Learnings from industry: managing your IP in a volatile and challenging landscape

09.30 GMT

Anita Shaw

IP law counsel, IBM

Anita Shaw, IP law counsel, is a dual qualified European and UK Patent Attorney at IBM. Having first trained in general sciences and then computer science, she has wide-ranging experience in protecting and harvesting IP as well as monetising IP through deals, collaborations and licensing. She is also actively involved in policy work in the data, AI and copyright fields.

Anita is and has also been involved in a number of external organisations in Europe and the UK for policy, give-back and diversity issues: EPI: Examiner for European Qualifying Examinations, Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA), IP Federation and IP Inclusive (founding member of IP&ME (a diversity network for BAME employees and their allies).

 Speaking session 

Diversity and inclusion in IP

11.00 GMT

Diana Sternfeld

Head of intellectual propery, LifeArc

Since 2018 Diana has been head of intellectual property at LifeArc, a leading UK medical research charity. Before joining LifeArc she was a patent litigator with particular expertise in biotechnology patents. As well as acting in all UK courts, she advised on international disputes and coordinated and assisted with actions in other jurisdictions and patent offices. Her patent career began with the landmark case of Biogen against Medeva, which was the first case involving a biotechnology patent considered by the House of Lords. Since that case she has acted in many significant cases, especially, in the life sciences sector. She is an active participant in the BioIndustry Association (BIA) and has been a member of its Board since 2011. She is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Board assisting in the operational oversight of the Association.

 Speaking session 

Leadership and building for the next generation

14.15 GMT

Parjeet Tawana

Director of patents - science, Benevolent AI

Parjeet is a chartered UK and European patent attorney with a technical background in the life sciences. her career experience has spanned across varied organisations including private practice and in-house, where she is currently part of a multi-disciplinary team and manages the IP strategy with a strong commercial focus.

Parjeet is passionate about diversity, inclusion and equity, and is a firm supporter of initiatives such as promoting women in leadership. She has recently completed a certification in leader as coach with an organisation that trains business professionals to coach and be coached alongside young adults from underrepresented groups.

 Speaking session 

Leadership and building for the next generation

14.15 GMT

Gloria Wu

Partner, Kangxin

Ms. Wu graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University, School of Law in 2005, and joined Kangxin in the same year and started her IP practice ever since.

Gloria has assisted IP owners from all over the world in devising and implementing tailored strategies for IP protection in China, with regard to both prosecution and litigation. She is also experienced in dealing with cases involving different types of IP rights, such as patent, trademarks, copyright, and domain names. Based on her deep knowledge and extensive experience of IP practice, she provides proactive, insightful advice to clients who encounter complicated disputes in China, and helps them to resolve their problems successfully and efficiently.

Ms. Wu is also active in IP transaction and licensing area. She has successfully assisted her clients in monetization of IP assets through various ways and also provided legal services such as drafting and reviewing agreements, due diligence and negotiation.

She has also authored many articles in both Chinese and international journals and has been frequently consulted and interviewed by legal media to give comments and opinion in relation to latest influential IP cases or other new development in legal system in China. She is also an active speaker and moderator at international conferences and seminars, sharing her knowledge and experience of IP practice in China with audiences from all over the world.

 Speaking session 

To be confirmed

Ann-Charlotte Järvinen

Partner, AWA

Biography coming soon.

 Speaking session 

Learnings from industry: managing your IP in a volatile and challenging landscape

09.30 GMT

Claudia Pappas

Head of trademark department, Thyssenkrupp

Biography coming soon.

 Speaking session 

Learnings from industry: managing your IP in a volatile and challenging landscape

09.30 GMT

Elizabeth Weiswasser

Partner, Weil Gotshal & Manges

To be conifrmed.

 Speaking session 

Diversity and inclusion in IP

11.00 GMT

Hazel Thorpe

Senior patent examiner & training champion, IPO UK

To be confirmed.

 Speaking session 

Diversity and inclusion in IP

11.00 GMT