I serve as Counsel to multiple operations including the CFO group (includes treasury, tax and compliance), Business Development, Commercial Finance and Investment Banking, Mergers & Acquisitions, Commercial transactions, Sales & Marketing, Communications, Intellectual property, Information Technology and real estate. My achievements Include:■ Acquisitions of Amber Resources and Dawson Oil. Co. and acquisition of Renewable Energy Group by Chevron.■ Strategic investments in Booster Fuels, Inc. and novel feedstocks opportunities.■ Implemented helpline, financial reporting and tracking software, and other process driven improvements.■ Industry first Green Bond offering, common stock and follow-on offering and subsequent redemption.

I directed the worldwide IP and North American general legal activities for multiple businesses of a global manufacturer. I led a team of attorneys and paraprofessionals in the enforcement of intellectual property rights, commercial transactions, management of antitrust activities, and oversight of corporate legal issues. I partnered with world-renowned brand owners, retailers, suppliers, and vendors on supply chain and fulfillment, digitization and creation of digital twins, joint ventures, and collaboration structures for emerging technologies. I managed product compliance certifications and other standards-related activity and conducted employee arbitration and other commercial mediation. I implemented domestic and foreign litigation strategies, NPE actions, and patent and trademark portfolio development. I negotiated commercial and IP contracts, licenses, and agreements.My accomplishments included:■ Achieving a multi-million-dollar recovery in trade secret misappropriation litigation.■ Slashing global trademark expenses by more than 50% through a trademark management program. ■ Saving more than $1M annually with the creation of an in-house prosecution model for domestic and international patent work. ■ Creating positive revenue positions though successful license and supply agreement negotiations.■ Spearheading efforts to create industry defense groups to counter RFID and other NPE/trolls■ Facilitating the growth and development of emerging technologies including RFID and other specialty applications, including Saas based applications .■ Resolving multi-year, multi-million-dollar IP infringement actions and anti-trust litigation on beneficial terms, resulting in multiple portfolio licenses.■ Developing patent mapping and education activities to increase awareness of holdings and link products to patents/trademarks and revenue.■ Designing and managing an internship program to provide a funnel for new talent.

In this position, I cultivated an industry-leading intellectual property portfolio and oversaw all intellectual property, commercial and general legal matters for a national manufacturing firm. I evaluated market conditions and identified new markets and technology advances to expand the company’s business. I negotiated with local economic development agencies to secure tax abatements and other incentives to aid business growth. I drafted and prosecuted patent applications and pursued license opportunities. I led and mentored a team of paraprofessionals and trained staff on management, business conduct, and employee relations topics. I collaborated with multiple academic institutions to create a robust internship program to expand staffing resources and identify potential job candidates.My accomplishments in this position included:■ Generating revenue and savings of more than 4% of company sales.■ Initiating patent and trademark awareness programs to increase utilization and awareness of IP assets.■ Securing government grants and identified various tax credits and government-sponsored incentives to help fund technology expansion and staff retraining.

At General Mills, I safeguarded intellectual property rights for multiple business units. I created an intellectual capital management program and monitored the performance of initial technology grouping audits. I oversaw licensing and patent application preparation and prosecution, resolved trademark disputes, prosecuted patent infringement cases, and devised defense strategies for patent trolls. I also implemented a variety of cost containment initiatives to increase profitability. I trained and mentored junior attorneys and paraprofessional staff and educated clients on protection of intellectual property rights.My accomplishments in this position included:■ Successfully realigning IP portfolios and trained technical community following acquisition of the Pillsbury® company.■ Establishing best practices to ensure accurate and consistent management of invention record submissions, record retention, and technical notebooks.■ Earning the Chairman's Award for Outstanding Performance.

I managed global intellectual property, commercial, and general legal issues for designated business units of a large international manufacturer. I negotiated divestitures of foreign and domestic divisions and coordinated creation of joint ventures, divisional restructuring, and sale of nonstrategic business assets.My accomplishments in this position included:■ Initiating an industry leading licensing program and fully funding the legal department with more than $4M annual revenue generated from IP activities.■ Slashing corporate IP costs by more than 30% and increased IP filings by 200%.■ Implementing a set of best practices for confidentiality agreements and retention of trade secrets and developing standard contract boilerplates.■ Securing tax incentives from local governments to support corporate development initiatives.■ Securing multi-million recovery and ongoing royalties through multiple defendant adhesive technology litigation and a multi-million-dollar settlement in electronic real estate image capture system litigation.