ICC has announced six appointments to lead the work of its Global Intellectual Property (IP) Commission, a global forum for the business community to shape policy discussions on innovation, intellectual property and the creative industries.

Under a strategic leadership renewal, the Steering Committee of the IP Commission has been joined by new vice-chairs from Intel, Ericsson, Nestlé, Enel, Unilever and MTN Group.

The six appointments will bring significant experience and leading voices in the business community to the Commission’s leadership, including from a former White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, as well as increased representation in key regions, with the creation of a new Regional Representative for Africa.

The new leadership members – appointed today by ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO – are:

  • Vishal Amin, Vice-Chair (United States of America), Head of Intellectual Property Policy, Intel Corporation
  • Bridget Petruczok, Vice-Chair (United States of America), IPR&L Policy and Advocacy, Ericsson
  • Myrtha Hurtado Rivas, Vice-Chair/Trademarks Rapporteur (Switzerland), General Counsel Brand and Marketing Properties, Licensing and Anti-Counterfeiting, Nestlé
  • Caterina Strippoli, Vice-Chair/Patents & Trade Secrets Rapporteur (Italy), Head of Intellectual Property, Enel
  • Anand Shetty, Vice-Chair/Regional Representative for India (India), General Manager Patent Group India, Unilever
  • Obianuju Otudor, Vice-Chair/Regional Representative for Africa (Nigeria), Manager IP and Technology Law, MTN Group Nigeria

They are joining existing members of leadership:

  • Ingrid Baele, Chair (Belgium), Director Risk Advisory, Extended Enterprise Risk Management Team, Deloitte
  • Richard Pfohl, Vice-Chair/Copyrights Rapporteur (Canada), General Counsel, Music Canada, Music Licensing
  • Oliver Hu, Vice-Chair/Regional Representative for China (China), Vice-President & Chief IP Counsel, WTE Corporation
  • Sergio M. Ellmann, Vice-Chair/Regional Representative for Latin America (Argentina), Partner, Marval O’Farrell Mairal

The Steering Committee will work with the ICC Global Headquarters IP team to provide strategic direction to ICC’s work on trademarks, patents and copyrights, and insights from Africa, Latin America, China, and India – overseeing the delivery of a range of new and enhanced projects in areas such as technology transfer, artificial intelligence and anti-counterfeiting. The diversity of the members will broaden the range of perspectives feeding into discussions and enable ICC to tackle a range of key issues, responding appropriately to intellectual property business needs across the globe.

The Chair of the Global Intellectual Property Commission, Ingrid Baele said: We are happy to present the renewed leadership team of our Global Intellectual Property Commission. In unprecedented times for the global economy, innovation, strong creative industries, and fair IP systems are crucial for reinvigorating economic activity and rewarding entrepreneurship. We will work with all commission members and ICC’s global network to make the work of the commission both impactful and engaging for the business community.”

Danny Grajales Pérez-y-Soto, Global Policy Manager — IP at ICC headquarters, said: “From leaders of the tech sector to the music industry, from consumer products to the energy industry, the new leadership of the commission is a great example of the wide range of industries aware of the importance of intellectual property policy for the business community and society at large. We are excited to work with the new leadership of the Commission to make ICC’s network ever more engaged in discussion about innovation ecosystems and the role of businesses as an active participant in IP forums.”