Stephen Metcalf Email & Phone Number

Facilitate organizations to improve their competitive position in their chosen market. Conduct assessments of the market landscape defining new or expanded product offerings. Develop market opportunities creating new concept definition and development plans. Anticipate possible competitive responses and proactively mitigate risks. Create IP protection strategies for innovations resulting in long-term market leadership and sustainable competitive advantage.• Analyze competitive offerings and capabilities highlighting opportunities and risks.• Benchmark current and potential competitive offerings highlighting performance differentiators.• Based on analysis, work with innovators to develop new product concepts focused on providing sustainable category leadership.• Conduct idealization brainstorms, competitive response modeling and IP Strengthening sessions.• Define IP protection strategies to provide sustainable competitive advantage.

Greater Boston Area

Defined, implemented and continually refined Competitive Launch Early Warning system. Utilizing publicly available information and a network of personal connections, collected information used to anticipate competitive activity globally. Analyzed impact and implications to the business and collaborate with R&D and Commercial organizations to formulate competitive response tactics and strategies aligning plans with senior management.- Certified Competitive Intelligence Professional through the Fuld, Gilad, Herring Academy of Competitive Intelligence. Drove CI collection policy understanding across the organization to ensure that searches for competitive information are conducted legally and ethically.- Created CI operations within business unit including a Competitive Launch Early Warning system that proactively collects and analyzes publicly available information resulting in ability to anticipate global competitive activity and technology shifts.- Collaborated to formulate competitive response tactics and strategies aligning plans with senior management.- Communicated in-depth understanding of competitive positioning and motivators through the use of Competitive and Business Intelligence tools including SWOT, Five Forces, Four Corners, landscape maps, financial analysis, market share shifts, hot button and blind spot analysis.- Analyzed competitive products and features predicting relative performance, defining competitive threat levels and innovation pacing providing reliable input for innovation review and strategic planning.- Integrated understanding of adjacent consumer products into internal category landscape resulting in a broader range of innovation options.- Developed counter-intelligence training to prevent internal leaks of confidential information.

Greater Boston Area

Performed a dual IP and CI role from 2007Intellectual Property Manager 2007 to Oct. 2015Defined IP Strategies for P&G’s Shave Care business and led the execution globally. Collaborated with individual inventors, initiative teams and attorneys to recognize and protect innovations relating to product, package, graphics, commercial execution, work processes and manufacturing. Reviewed invention disclosures providing landscape analysis and protection opportunities. Led IP Strengthening sessions to uncover and holistically protect novel elements. Analyzed competitive IP activity, assessing implications and worked with subject matter experts and senior management to make adjustments to the innovation portfolio.- Post-acquisition, transferred P&G’s IP best practices to Gillette resulting in more than double the number of utility and design filings after five years.- Created business specific IP Strategies including use of patents, trademarks, trade dress, copyright, trade secrets and public disclosures defining their use in clearly articulated Protection Principles.- Collaborated with inventors and initiative teams to recognize and protection novel innovations resulting in broad areas of sustainable superiority.- Conceived and executed an IP training program spanning basic to advanced IP topics training over 300 innovators and managers.

Greater Boston Area

Engineering Manager, Metal Forming and Gage Design & Development 2001 to 2004Based on projected volume, supported new product launches with capital estimates and equipment roll-out plans. Worked with engineers and equipment vendors to define specifications and develop manufacturing and implementation approaches. Collaborated with downstream partners to ensure solutions were appropriate for high volume, close tolerance manufacturing environment. Reviewed component designs and specified metal component and gauging implementation strategies for the Fusion platform contributing to on time delivery.

South Boston

Manager Mechanical Product Design & Development 1994 to 2001Led the design, development and timely delivery of high performance consumer products suitable for worldwide distribution and sale. Established success criteria for projects including performance, fit, function and integrity. Delivered market changing innovations including Gillette Mach3 and Venus. Drove cost reduction activity for existing products totaling over $10 million over a three year span.