Meet our experts.
Our decades of IP and business experience in cleantech give you everything you need to grow with confidence.
Our decades of IP and business experience in cleantech give you everything you need to grow with confidence.
Mike oversees IAC’s national strategy, operations, and delivery of programs. He brings 25 years of experience in patent strategy, working with law firms, corporate counsel, and licensing agencies in Canada and internationally.
Mike enjoys coaching youth basketball and baseball.
Erin leads IAC’s work to advance IP maturity and help Canadian companies use IP as a powerful lever in their growth strategies. With over two decades of experience in private practice, in-house roles, and strategic advisory work, she has engaged with the IP system from every angle. She is a registered patent agent holding Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering.
A former competitive cross-country skier, Erin now trades race bibs for leisurely skis on mountain trails with her husband. Their household rule: every dog must have a Vancouver Canucks–related name – current companions – Quinn & Hughes.
Ashley leads IAC’s external relations, building strong member experiences, partnerships, marketing, and events. She has an international MBA and brings deep business expertise from scaling startups and global organizations, with a focus on collaborations and strategic initiatives that drive growth.
Ashley spends as much time as she can in cottage country, and hiking with her dog, Ginny.
Jennifer helps shape IAC’s workplace culture, ensuring people feel supported, valued, and inspired. She brings extensive HR leadership experience across high tech, private equity, and the non-profit sector, with a focus on helping teams and leaders thrive.
Jen’s usually outdoors around Ottawa: on the golf course, at the curling rink, or with her family and golden doodle, who insists she’s the boss.
Peggy provides strategic support to companies in IP development and management, and advances initiatives in IP training, data governance, and AI governance. She brings over two decades of experience as a Canadian and international IP lawyer. Peggy is also a registered trademark agent in both Canada and the US, and a certified privacy professional.
Vivek creates educational resources, toolkits, and advisory content on IP. He is an engineer, internationally trained lawyer, Indian Patent Agent, and Canadian patent agent-in-training with experience in IP analytics, management, risk, licensing, and commercialization.
Vivek is a travel-loving foodie who enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, blending global flavors and capturing each dish and destination through his lens.
Leading the strategic execution of IAC’s IP Intelligence program, Spoorthy delivers actionable IP analytics, commercialization insights, and strategic guidance to cleantech startups, SMEs, and the broader innovation ecosystem.
When she’s not deep in data, Spoorthy can often be found on her yoga mat or fundraising at her children’s school.
Ron is part of IAC’s Freedom to Operate team, focusing on identifying markets and technical areas for patent acquisition and licensing. He brings over 25 years of experience in the high-tech sector, with 16 of those focused on Intellectual Property and patent licensing.
Stuti helps companies protect and manage their IP, and maximize their value through strategic guidance, analytics, and risk management. She is an internationally trained lawyer with a Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology and is also a qualified Indian Patent and Trademark Agent, with over a decade of experience working across Canada, the U.S., Europe, and India.
It took Stuti just thirty minutes to decide her husband was “the one,” the fastest and best due diligence process she has ever run.
Mayur supports IAC’s IP Intelligence stream by delivering patent and market landscape studies, prior art analysis and patent monitoring while supporting members with his patent searching experience.
Since arriving in Canada, Mayur has been on a rapid-fire adventure streak flying a plane, tobogganing in Québec, and jet-boating Niagara. He aims to perfect his French.
Focus: Working as part of the Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) Team, Lamine helps in identifying potential opportunities for patent acquisitions, including performing portfolio reviews and making recommendations for acquisition.
Background: Lamine is a Canadian Patent Agent with 20+ years of experience in the IP space including patent licensing, litigation support, acquisition, drafting and prosecution. Lamine earned an M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Laval University and holds a math and physics degree from Dakar University.
Jim is the former Chairman and co-CEO of BlackBerry, leading its growth from early stages to global scale. He is the co-founder of several Canadian and international organizations in innovation, governance, and digital policy, and has received multiple awards for leadership and contributions to business.
Josh is Vice President of Intellectual Property and Ideation at TD Bank, where he established and leads the bank’s IP function. His experience includes patent portfolio management, commercialization, and litigation.
Neil is an executive at Magnet Forensics, serving investigative agencies worldwide. He holds fellowships at the Munk School and CIGI, with prior senior roles at Global Affairs Canada and the Prime Minister’s Office.
Kiriakoula is Senior Legal Counsel at National Bank of Canada, managing knowledge initiatives and compliance projects. She is the author of Secured Lending in Intellectual Property and a lecturer at the University of Montreal.
Leah is a Senior Fellow at Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, focusing on AI, engineering, and energy. She is the former CEO of a climate tech fund and past chair of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.
Ruth is a governance specialist and FCPA with leadership experience in Alberta’s Legislative Assembly Office and the Office of the Auditor General. She is a director at Canada’s College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents.
Krishna is an IP strategist, lawyer, and engineer with experience in corporate patent strategy, including at Cisco and BlackBerry. He is the founder of the Inventors Foundation and a former university lecturer.
Aliya is a Partner at McCarthy Tétrault and co-founder of MT>Ventures, advising startups on financing, IP, and partnerships. She previously helped scale med-tech startup Figure1 internationally.
Rod is a technology executive with over two decades of experience in innovation, digital transformation, and IP governance across multiple sectors.
Chris is the founder of Veramito Inc. and a mentor to technology leaders. He is a former BlackBerry executive and inventor with 33 patents, experienced in negotiating large-scale licensing deals.
Whether you’re looking to strengthen your IP position or explore new markets, our experts can help you build the strategy to get there.