Insights
Six IV Execs Honored with Inclusion in IAM 250
June 14, 2011
- Buzz
- Six IV Execs Honored with Inclusion in I...
All of us at IV know we work with brilliant people, but it’s always nice when the industry recognizes the talent we have within our walls. Leading industry publication IAM (Intellectual Asset Management) publishes their list of the top people in the IP industry each year. It’s called IAM 250 – The World’s Leading IP Strategists and it’s basically like being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, except instead of rocking out with electric guitars or killer drum sets, the honorees do impressive things with intellectual property. All the honorees had to be nominated multiple times by their peers in order to be considered and then pass further scrutiny by the judges before they were selected. This year, we’re lucky enough to have SIX of our executives selected for the IAM 250. Congratulations to them for being outstanding in the world of intellectual property!
Don Merino is senior vice president of licensing and focuses on our licensing efforts in Asia. He’s been at IV since 2004 and is known as the guy who bought all of the assets for our first fund in the early days. He’s since turned his attention to licensing, and it’s clear he’s got a knack for that, too.
Everardo Ruiz is director of acquisitions and spends his time investing in top-caliber patents to make our portfolio strong and broad across many technology areas. He brings experience in venture investing, IP strategy, marketing, management and product development to his job at IV. Everardo also teaches at MIT Sloan and the MIT School of Engineering.
Joe Chernesky is vice president and general manager of global licensing sales. He worked with IP for years both at major companies and his own startup before joining IV. He’s a clutch deal-closer and has a focused personality that makes perfect sense when you find out he served in the U.S. Navy for 10 years.
Masanobu Katoh joined IV in 2010 as an executive director, and he is also the head of our business in Japan. Katoh-san’s reputation as the top IP executive in Japan comes from years at Fujitsu, and we feel very fortunate that he’s part of IV and leading our strategy in his native country.
Micah Siegel is vice president of strategic technology investments. He focuses on private equity transactions involving patents, such as building patent portfolios and investing them into VC-backed tech companies. He’s been one of the IAM 250 for three years running (2009-2011), and he’s also a professor at Stanford University.
Michael Pierantozzi is head of marketing for our global licensing programs and value-added solution products such as IP for Defense, Litigation Clearance and Strategic Buying. Based in Silicon Valley, he is a technology entrepreneur, IP business strategist and consultant. Prior to joining IV, he served as VP at IPotential and as managing director for HP’s IP Licensing Group.
