The IP Strategy Summit: NYC

Edward is Vice President and Senior Counsel for Intellectual Property at MasterCard. He has over a decade of legal experience. Prior to MasterCard Edward held associate positions at bother Baker Botts LLP and Petterson Belknap Web & Tyler LLP. Edward earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and his J.D. from Cornell Law School.

Valerie L. Calloway formerly served as Managing IP Law Attorney and Chief Trademark Counsel at IBM, where she led the global team responsible for protecting the company’s extensive portfolio of brands and domain names. Her practice has focused on global trademark clearance, prosecution and protection strategies, domain-name management, and intellectual property issues arising from corporate acquisitions and divestitures. She previously served as Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Alltech, overseeing the company’s worldwide IP matters. Valerie is a member of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Public Advisory Committee. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School, an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia. Public professional biographies list her as admitted in Ohio and Kentucky, inactive in Minnesota, and registered to practice before the USPTO.

Sara Dastgheib-Vinarov is Global Senior Intellectual Property Counsel at Ingredion Incorporated, where she advises on intellectual property and innovation strategy. She has more than 25 years of experience developing and managing global IP portfolios, protecting innovation, supporting commercialization, and aligning intellectual property with broader business objectives. Before returning to Ingredion, Sara served as Global Legal Head of Intellectual Property & Innovation at Tate & Lyle.

Sara earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame, a J.D. from Marquette University Law School, and a B.S. in Biochemistry from Trinity University. She is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and has been recognized in the IAM Strategy 300 as one of the world’s leading IP strategists.

Lance Hochhauser is Senior Intellectual Property Counsel at Prove Identity, Inc., overseeing all facets of Prove’s intellectual property. He is also managing Prove’s AI policy and has stood up a model risk management program to standardize responses Prove provides to clients.

Prior to his time at Prove, Lance was Associate General Counsel at SWIM USA; Intellectual Property Counsel at IQVIA; and Patent Attorney – Team Lead at IBM.

Lance earned his J.D. from Emory University School of Law and his bachelor degree in chemical engineering from Vanderbilt University. Lance is admitted to practice law in New York and is also admitted to practice before the USPTO.

Kim Jessum is Chief IP Counsel, Associate General Counsel, and Secretary at Heraeus Incorporated in Yardley, Pennsylvania and VP, Legal at Heraeus Medevio in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Heraeus is a Fortune Global 500 portfolio company specializing in precious metals, materials, sensors, biomaterials, and medical products, as well as quartz glass and specialty light sources. Kim is responsible for providing intellectual property and general legal advice for various business units in the United States and worldwide. She received her bachelors degree in chemical engineering and applied science from Lehigh University and her masters degree in biopharmaceuticals from the University of Pennsylvania. Kim was awarded her law degree and Certificate in Intellectual Property Law from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Illinois and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She served as the Chair of the ABA Intellectual Property Law Section 2021-22 and is currently Chair of the ABA Section Officers Conference

Jesse Bucholtz is Senior Patent Counsel at Canon USA. He’s earned a BA in Political Science and Philosophy from Binghamton University an MS in Biology and Immunology from NYU and his JD from Cardozo School of Law. Prior to Canon he was a Senior Associate at Jack Schwartz & Associates PLLC.

Matthew F. Prewitt is a trial lawyer with a national practice focused on the law governing confidential business and personal information and the IT systems used to store, analyze, and transmit that data. Matt is Co-Leader of the Trade Secrets, Noncompetes & Employee Mobility group.

Maharaj Mukherjee, a Master Inventor emeritus from IBM has a PhD in Computer and Systems Engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an MS from University at Stony Brook, and a B-Tech in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur. He has done his PhD work with Professor George Nagy who had worked with Professor Frank Rosenblatt (the Father of Artificial Intelligence and Neural Network) for his own PhD thesis in 1950s in development of the first neural network model.

Maharaj has been working for the Bank of America in the Global Technology organization for past six and half years working in areas of natural and formal language translation, transliteration, transpilation and Digital Twins related to edge computing, metaverse, and Internet of Things.

Before joining the Bank of America, he had worked for IBM Research for twenty years. He has also been the chair of IBM’s Internet of Things Invention Development Team. He was a member of IBM’s Academy of Technology. Before that he served as a faculty at the Electrical and Electronics Communication Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur.

He has also spent a year at the Max Plank Institute of Informatics at Saarbrucken, Germany as a Humboldt fellow.

His main areas of interest include Deep Learning and Cognitive Analytics as applied to Internet of Things, Geometric Algorithms and its applications within the fields of big data and Analytics, Block Chain and Open Ledger and its application on IOT, Smarter Planet and Internet of Everything, CAD/CAM/CAE, and Electronic Design Automation.

Maharaj Mukherjee now holds 209 US granted patents and is now recognized as one of the most prolific inventors of the world. He has been the top inventor of the Bank of America for the past two consecutive years and one of the top three inventors of the Bank of America in 2020. He is a Master Inventor Emeritus at IBM which he became after being selected as a Master Inventor three times consecutively at IBM.  He is also inducted at IBM’s Inventor Wall of Fame at the IBM East Fishkill site in New York. He holds 150 US patents and as well as 100 patents in other countries including, Germany, UK, France, Italy, China, Korea, Japan, and Brazil. One of his patents on Predictive Traffic Modeling has been chosen by IBM as one of the best twenty patents from past twenty years. Maharaj has also received the valuable patent award – that is awarded to top 1% patents in IBM every year– five times. Maharaj has mentored several new inventors who had filed patents and patent applications. Two of Maharaj’s mentees have become Master Inventors, themselves, in 2017.  Maharaj has given several invited presentations including the Keynote presentation at the Computational Intelligence and Networking (CINE-2015) Conference in January 2015 and Center-force IP Conferences.

Maharaj currently serves in the Awards Committee of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE ). He is the only voting member from USA and one of the six voting members worldwide. Hs is also in the IEEE USA Awards committee. . He also serves as the Professional Activities Chair of IEEE Region 1. He previously served as the Central Area Chair for IEEE region 1, chair of the IEEE Mid-Hudson Section, PACE chair for the IEEE Mid-Hudson Section and the Secretary for the IEEE Kharagpur Section.

Ralph Carter is Senior Counsel, Litigation and Cybersecurity Legal at Workday, where he provides strategic guidance on commercial litigation, dispute resolution, cybersecurity preparedness, and incident response. Before joining Workday, he was a senior associate at Duane Morris LLP, managing complex commercial litigation in federal and state courts, internal investigations, and regulatory matters.

Ralph is a certified mediator in New York and has held leadership roles within the New York State Bar Association’s Commercial and Federal Litigation Section. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from St. John’s University School of Law, where he was a Ronald H. Brown Scholar and served as Executive Notes and Comments Editor of the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development.

Aaron Miller is a US-based patent attorney with Getinge, a global med-tech leader headquartered in Sweden.  Aaron started his legal career doing patent litigation with McDermott Will & Emery, and later with Jones Day.  He then transitioned to patent prosecution and freedom-to-operate practice at an IP boutique law firm.  At Getinge Aaron advises product and business teams throughout Europe and the US, with a strong knowledge of both USPTO and EPO strategy.  Aaron has led the IP portions of nearly a dozen med-tech M&A diligence investigations while at Getinge, as well as several post-acquisition IP integrations.

Aaron has a B.S. in Plant Biology from Cornell University, and a J.D. cum laude from Boston College Law School.

Gowri Krishnamurthy is Director, Global Intellectual Property at Qcells, where she leads global IP strategy and supports the protection of innovation across the company’s solar and energy technologies. She previously spent more than 17 years at Air Products, holding leadership roles in intellectual property, research and development, and technology innovation.

With a technical background spanning low-carbon hydrogen, carbon capture, natural gas liquefaction, adsorption, and industrial gases, Gowri has helped develop and protect intellectual property for major sustainability and clean-energy initiatives. She is also a named inventor on numerous U.S. patents.

Gowri holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. She is a registered patent agent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Ian MacKinnon is Vice President and Chief Patent Counsel at Kudelski Group, where he leads patent strategy and advises on the development, management, protection, and enforcement of intellectual property across the company’s technology businesses. He has more than 25 years of experience working with innovative and high-technology companies, with a focus on global patent portfolio management, licensing, monetization, enforcement, and litigation support.

Before joining Kudelski Group, Ian practiced with Kinney & Lange and began his career at Honeywell. He earned his J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law and a B.S. from Michigan Technological University. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut.

Sarah Tsou is the global head of Omni Bridgeway’s award-winning intellectual property business, overseeing Omni Bridgeway’s IP portfolio and team of dedicated IP professionals.

Chambers has repeatedly recognized Sarah in Band 1 for Litigation Funding (Intellectual Property), noting that she is “quite simply, brilliant…she is a big picture, game changing thinker” who is “a huge asset to Omni’s overall business” and “one of the genuine superstars in the litigation finance industry.” Omni’s IP business is also ranked by Chambers in Band 1 for Intellectual Property. Sarah is described as an “unparalleled leader in the world of litigation finance” by IAM, which has included her in its most prestigious rankings, and has repeatedly been named a Thought Leader by Who’s Who Legal. Sarah is also identified as a key leader within Legal 500’s 2025 Tier 1 ranking of Omni Bridgeway’s U.S. business noting the strength of the company’s global IP service.

Sarah has been invited to speak on litigation funding issues by prominent industry organizations such as the International Legal Finance Association, Federal Circuit Bar Association, Delaware Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Intellectual Property Owners Association, International Intellectual Property Society, IPWatchdog, and New York City Bar Association. Additionally, she is quoted frequently in publications such as Law360, Bloomberg Law, and Managing IP. She also sits on the Steering Committee of Women of Litigation Finance (WOLF).

Prior to joining the company’s New York office in 2019, Sarah was a partner in the intellectual property practice group at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, focusing on patent litigation. In addition to handling patent disputes spanning a broad range of technologies and industries, she also led trade secret and trademark litigation teams and counseled clients in corporate acquisitions, licensing matters, and other transactions.

Sarah approaches litigation funding deal evaluation and diligence with the expertise of a litigator who has spent over a dozen years representing clients in all aspects of complex litigation from inception to trial. She has advised clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies on risk, cost analysis, IP portfolio and market analysis, and strategy, and she understands the factors that companies and law firms weigh when deciding whether to engage in litigation. Her substantial case evaluation and trial experience inform her ability to structure funding deals that allow alignment of risk between all parties to the deal. Having secured significant verdicts and resolutions for clients in industries including computer software, electronics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biotechnology, and oilfield services, she offers valuable insights to Omni Bridgeway’s funded clients and their counsel when they need strategic advice during the course of litigation.

Sarah earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law and her B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in both Biology and Psychology and graduating summa cum laude with Highest Honors.

Ajita Abraham is a senior global legal executive with extensive experience leading commercial legal, intellectual property, data privacy, AI governance, technology transactions, and contract lifecycle management functions for multinational organizations. Most recently, she served as Deputy General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Global Head of Commercial Legal, Privacy, Intellectual Property and Contract Lifecycle Management at Avantor.

Previously, Ajita served as General Counsel for Capgemini’s Financial Services business in North America and led global commercial legal matters at McKinsey & Company. Earlier in her career, she held intellectual property and technology-focused roles at BNY Mellon, Credit Suisse, and JPMorgan Chase and practiced at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Holland & Knight. She has led international legal teams and advised on complex commercial transactions, intellectual property protection, privacy, cybersecurity, compliance, and emerging technology risk.

Ajita earned her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and is a graduate of Tufts University, where she studied international relations.

Michael Antonucci is Senior Counsel for TED Conferences LLC where he manages TED’s intellectual property, licensing, distribution, talent agreements and litigation. In his role, Michael works closely with TED’s business teams to protect TED’s brand, manage risk, and negotiate deals. He joined TED as Associate Counsel in October 2021.  Prior to joining TED, Michael worked at an intellectual property firm, Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, P.C., where he advised clients on a wide range of intellectual property matters, including trademark and copyright clearance, acquisition, maintenance, defense and enforcement.  Before that, Michael was a corporate associate in the Technology Transaction Group at Latham & Watkins LLP, where he advised clients on complex commercial transactional matters involving technology and intellectual property.

DeNashia Robinson serves as the inaugural Sports & Entertainment Director at Uplift Legal, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. She leads the Entertainment Law Division, creating innovative programming pathways for aspiring entertainment and IP attorneys. Her legal practice centers on media licensing, commercial contracts, and intellectual property across sports, fashion, and entertainment industries. DeNashia began her career as one of the first Legal Fellows at Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, becoming one of the few attorneys hired directly from law school—Howard University Class of 2024. Her extensive in-house experience covers luxury brands, motorsports, and professional sports. She brings a business-driven mindset and in-house expertise to the intersection of sports, fashion, and content strategy.

Melissa Klein is Senior IP Counsel at Danone, a leading food and beverage company, with brands such as Dannon, OIKOS, Silk, International Delight and SToK. Melissa oversees the company’s brand portfolio in North America, including prosecuting trademark applications; enforcement; licensing opportunities and advising the marketing teams on “right time engagement” and media campaigns. Prior to working at Danone, she was IP Counsel at David Yurman.

Adam Santiago is Entertainment Counsel, Business and Legal Affairs at Condé Nast, where he supports the company’s entertainment-related legal and business initiatives. Before joining Condé Nast, Adam practiced at Bruce Colfin Law, P.C., advising clients on contracts and matters involving entertainment, intellectual property, and businesses across the creative industries. He holds an M.S. in Media Management from The New School, a J.D. from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, and a B.A. in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Peri Fluger, General Counsel at Ruder Finn, Inc., a global public relations, marketing, communications, and creative agency, serves as the chief legal advisor to all of Ruder Finn’s global public relations, marketing, communications, and creative agencies. With a diverse skill set that encompasses public relations, communications, advertising, marketing (including social media and influencer marketing), AI, entertainment, intellectual property, and corporate law, he provides invaluable legal guidance to the organization, ensuring compliance and fostering innovation.

Navdeep Tucker is an accomplished legal professional with over 16 years of experience spanning corporate, commercial, and in-house practice. She currently serves as Lead Counsel for Sugar Foods Corporation, a 75-year-old leader in the consumer packaged goods industry, where she acts as a true generalist—providing strategic counsel on brand protection, marketing, procurement and supply chain, sustainability, food law, human resources, and corporate transactions. Prior to Sugar Foods, Navdeep was Assistant General Counsel at Ferrero U.S., supporting iconic global brands including Nutella and Ferrero Rocher, and leading legal support for sustainability initiatives. Earlier in her career, she built and managed her own law practice, Tucker Law Office, before joining Torres Legal as Of Counsel, where she advised clients on matters involving entertainment law, corporate law, and real estate.

In addition to her professional work, Navdeep is deeply committed to service and leadership within her community. She is currently President Elect for the South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey, serves as a hearing panelist for the Middlesex County Fee Arbitration Committee, and recently completed her term as Vice President of Membership for the Rutgers Alumni Association. She is also a volunteer and advocate with the Sikh American Legal Defense Fund, where she advocates for civil rights and community engagement, and participates in interfaith initiatives that foster dialogue and inclusivity across diverse communities. Outside of her legal and community work, Navdeep is passionate about music and cultural preservation. She performs Punjabi folk music at weddings and community events, carrying forward a tradition that brings people together in celebration.

Lara Mary Ruggerio is Senior Legal Counsel, Global Litigation & Intellectual Property at Wish, where she advises on intellectual property strategy, enforcement, risk management, and global disputes. Before moving in-house, Lara practiced at Ballard Spahr, focusing on trademark and copyright matters. Her experience includes brand protection, trademark clearance and enforcement, copyright counseling, product-development risk, emerging technologies, and intellectual property litigation.

Lara earned her J.D. from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, where she completed the Intellectual Property Law concentration, and her B.S. from Lafayette College. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.

Gregory Kowal is Senior Associate, Conflict Prevention & Resolution at Downtown Music Publishing and Songtrust, where he focuses on preventing and resolving competing claims involving musical works, including questions of authorship, ownership, administration, and royalty collection. Working at the intersection of copyright, rights administration, and music-industry operations, he helps protect songwriters’ interests and support accurate rights registration across the global publishing ecosystem.

Melissa Schoffer Farber is VP, General Counsel at BroadwayHD, the industry leader in streaming recorded and live-captured theatrical productions.  Prior to BroadwayHD, Melissa was VP, Associate General Counsel at SoulCycle, the acclaimed fitness and lifestyle brand.  Melissa began her legal career in Legal Affairs at New York’s 92nd Street Y.  Melissa advises on various business matters, and has worked extensively in domestic and foreign matters involving intellectual property law. She holds a J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law, and an LL.M. in Intellectual Property from the George Washington University Law School.

Avita Delerme is General Counsel at The Channel Company, a global media and events company serving the technology ecosystem across North America, EMEA, and APAC. Before joining The Channel Company, Avita spent nearly a decade advising iconic media and entertainment institutions, including The Public Theater, Lincoln Center, and Steinway & Sons. Across these roles, she counseled complex, content-driven organizations at the intersection of intellectual property, talent, and business strategy.

In her current role, Avita leads a global legal function spanning commercial transactions, data protection and privacy, employment, and enterprise risk for a platform with cross-border operations and data-driven products. She brings a practical, in-house perspective on protecting proprietary assets and managing workforce mobility. Avita serves on the Board of Directors of Queens Theater and is Co-Chair of the Theater and Performing Arts Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s Entertainment and Sports Law Section.