The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative

With the modern world’s constant connectivity, achieving a balance between work and personal life is more challenging than ever. This session will explore the unique barriers and pressures faced by individuals in leadership roles, including traditional expectations and workplace demands. 

This session will present practical strategies for setting boundaries, delegating tasks, prioritizing time, and improving communication skills. Emphasis will be placed on embracing flexibility, promoting self-care, and disconnecting from work to maintain a sense of balance. Additionally, the session will highlight the importance of defining what success means to you, building supportive networks, cultivating a positive mindset, and knowing how and when to seek help. Join us to discover tools and techniques for achieving work-life integration and enhancing overall well-being. 

Moderator: Debra Hughes, Assistant General Counsel, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (USA)   

Speakers:  

• Anuj Desai, Partner, Intellectual Property & Litigation, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP (USA)   
• Nayoung Kim, Principal Associate, Gowling WLG (UAE)   
• Kat Welch, Trademark Attorney, Husch Blackwell LLP (USA 

Join us for an engaging fireside chat on leadership in today’s business world. INTA’s President-Elect, Deborah A. Hampton (The Chemours Company, USA), shares her journey to becoming a Trademark Administrator and an officer of the INTA Board of Directors. With a career shaped by resilience, reinvention, and navigating uncertainty, Deborah offers real-world insight into what it takes to lead with authenticity through turbulent times.  

She has built a reputation for mentoring across generations and helping others cultivate personal brands rooted in authenticity. This conversation will explore how to foster belonging, advocate for yourself with confidence, and transform both successes and setbacks into momentum. 

Whether you’re facing change, challenge, or growth, this fireside chat will offer valuable guidance on how to lead with clarity, purpose, and authentic strength. 

Moderators: 

• Conny Schmitt, Attorney-at-law, Grünecker (Germany)
• Bahia Al Yafi, Director of Innovation, Alyafi IP Group (Middle East)

Speaker: Deborah A. Hampton, Trademark Team Leader, The Chemours Company FC, LLC (USA) 

Becoming a General Counsel (GC) requires legal expertise, strategic thinking, and leadership skills. This session will feature insights from seasoned General Counsels. They will share personal experiences, key milestones, and essential skills for success. You’ll learn about building a robust legal career, developing a strategic mindset, and honing leadership abilities. The panel will also highlight perspectives from both men and women, discussing how their journeys differed and how they handled opportunities and challenges. Whether you’re an early-career legal professional or a seasoned attorney, this session will equip you with the knowledge and inspiration to reach the GC role.

Moderator: Ayala Deutsch, Executive Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, NBA Properties, Inc. (USA)

Speakers:

• Dorian Daley, Former Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Oracle Corporation; Board Director and Chair, ChIPs (USA)
• Beth Seals, General Counsel, Zippo Manufacturing (USA)

The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative Idea Exchange aims to bridge the gap between today’s women leaders and those coming up in the ranks. The panel discussion will look to refocus efforts to help young women leaders advance and succeed. Panelists will talk about best practices, how to cope with workplace challenges, and work-life integration.  Hiring talent and retaining teams is important, but what do new generations want at the workplace? What are the challenges that they are encountering and what are they hoping to achieve? Legacy leaders hope that their experiences will aid in guiding the path of future women leaders.

Moderator: Laura Collada, Managing Partner, Dumont (Mexico)

Speakers:

• Yixian Chen; Partner, Barrister & Solicitor; Jones & Co. Law Office (Canada)
• Deirdre Clarke, IP Counsel, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (USA)
• Kelly McCarthy, Partner, Sideman & Bancroft (USA)
• Blanca Mejia, Partner, Bufete Mejia & Asociados (Honduras)

October 8, 2024 

Join The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative in exploring the journeys of women in IP who have chosen to transition from large firms in pursuit of entrepreneurial ventures. This idea exchange will delve into the unique challenges and opportunities that women encounter as they carve their own paths within and beyond the IP sector. Panelists will share their personal experiences, addressing the reasons behind their shift, the obstacles faced, and the strategies employed to succeed.    

Our 30-minute panel discussion will be followed by 50-minutes of break-out room discussions, during which registrants can exchange experiences, questions, and keys to capitalizing on their expertise to build innovative ventures. Whether you are considering a similar transition or seeking to understand the dynamics of entrepreneurship in the IP domain, this event promises to inspire and empower.  

Moderator:  Sujata Chaudhri, Founder and Managing Partner, Sujata Chaudhri IP Attorneys (India) 

Speaker: 

• Priya Rao, Founder, Priya Rao & Associates (India) 
• Coral Toh, Principal, Ownership (China) 

September 18, 2024

Join The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative in exploring the journeys of women in IP who have chosen to transition from large firms in pursuit of entrepreneurial ventures. This idea exchange will delve into the unique challenges and opportunities that women encounter as they carve their own paths within and beyond the IP sector. Panelists will share their personal experiences, addressing the reasons behind their shift, the obstacles faced, and the strategies employed to succeed.

Moderator: Susan Natland, Partner, Knobbe Martens (USA)

Speakers:

• Kenna Florie, Co-Founder, Beek Footwear, (USA)
• Toe Su Aung, Director, Elipe Limited (UK)

Join us for a fireside chat about how our speakers successfully negotiated and advanced to the next levels in their careers, including obstacles they faced and how they persevered.  Hear about their experiences and how those skills may be utilized and built upon by mentees and the next wave of women leaders.

Moderator: Sam Skains-Menchaca, Partner, Bradley (USA)

Speakers:

• Amaya Singh, Partner, LexOrbis (India)
• Dianne Tibbs Johnson, Senior Paralegal, Coates IP (USA)
• Keisha Vidrio Le’on, Senior Paralegal, Intellectual Property, Red Bull (USA)

Join us for a fireside chat as leaders reflect on the changes in the workplace that have accelerated the advancement of women. While celebrating the progress made, there is still work to be done. Hear tips and takeaways from speakers on the expansion of opportunities for women from a structural and societal point of view.

Moderator: Lara Kayode, Owner and Managing Partner, O. Kayode & Co. (Nigeria)

Speakers:

• Adraea Brown, Assistant General Counsel—Trademarks, Harley-Davidson (USA)
• Isabella Cardozo, Partner, Daniel Law (Brazil)
• Lisa Jakob, Managing Counsel, Trademark Group, Merck (USA)
• Linda Wang, Partner, Zico IP (Malaysia)

The Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) was established on International Women’s Day 2020, a time of significant global disruptions to life and work. Today, four years later, the world has changed, and so have our approaches to women leaders’ issues. We must reflect upon how recent changes have impacted our hiring and retention strategies, as well as how we integrate work and life. What are the long-term effects of remote work and return-to-work policies? How can we create a work environment that fosters and nurtures women leaders? Let’s come together for an inspiring discussion on recent changes impacting women in the workforce and gain valuable insights from field experts.

Moderator: Ayala Deutsch, Executive Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, NBA Properties, Inc. (USA)

Speakers:

• Geetha Kandiah, CEO, KASS International (Malaysia)
• Low Pei Lin, Partner, Allen & Gledhill LLP (Singapore)

March 27, 2024

The Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) was established on International Women’s Day 2020, a time of significant global disruptions to life and work. Today, four years later, the world has changed, and so have our approaches to women leaders’ issues. We must reflect upon how recent changes have impacted our hiring and retention strategies, as well as how we integrate work and life. What are the long-term effects of remote work and return-to-work policies? How can we create a work environment that fosters and nurtures women leaders? Let’s come together for an inspiring discussion on recent changes impacting women in the workforce and gain valuable insights from field experts.

Moderator: Ayala Deutsch, Executive Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, NBA Properties, Inc. (USA)

Speakers:

• Traci V. Bransford, Partner, Parker Poe (USA)
• Karin Sandberg, Partner Harmsen Utescher (Germany)

Everything from social and geopolitical changes to the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the challenges posed by the pandemic are shaping how we hire, structure teams, and retain talent. The transformative effects of these disruptors have ushered in a wave of challenges and opportunities in various professions, including the IP legal profession. Amidst these changes, however, concerns have surfaced about the unequal impact on different segments of the work ecosystem, particularly women in professional roles.

Projections indicate that broadening economic disruptors at times of impact will extend to approximately two-thirds of all jobs, leaving a potential mark on almost 300 million employment positions across the globe. A noteworthy aspect of this impact is its potential to affect women disproportionately, especially those in white-collar jobs. Statistics reveal that around 80 percent of women in the workforce are active in roles that are susceptible to disruption by AI, in contrast to 60 percent of their male counterparts. So, how do we future-proof our teams, and what laws should be passed to prevent these losses?

This discrepancy raises essential questions about its underlying reasons. Exploring the factors contributing to this phenomenon and delving into the ethical dimensions surrounding the development and deployment of functional algorithms becomes necessary. Has the entrepreneurial space taken on a new shape to investing in women? What leadership roles are encountered in this self-empowering phenomenon? What can leaders do to hire and retain talent, particularly women?

Hear from industry experts on what steps you can take to future-proof your team!

The first part of this workshop will be a panel discussion. The second part will be a focus group related to a gender study that INTA is conducting. The focus groups will allow for frank but confidential conversations around some of the most pressing gender issues shaping the experience of trademark practitioners in the workplace.

Moderator:

• Ty Lord, Partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton (USA)

Speakers:

• Grace Chan, Venture Principal, New Markets; BP Ventures (USA)
• Amanda Garcia-Williams, Chief Diversity Officer, Husch Blackwell (USA)

Join us for a fireside chat about how our speakers fostered their leadership skills through the allyship and mentorship they received, and how those skills are being utilized to mentor and bring though the next wave of women leaders as well as mentoring male TMAs.

Moderators:

• Esther Ono, Brands & Marketing Lead Paralegal, Meta (USA)
• Jon Parker, Partner, Gowling WLG (UAE)

Speakers:

• Stephanie Grenald, Senior Corporate Counsel, Amazon (USA)
• Jesus Enrique Vargas, Trademark Paralegal, Keltie (UK)
• Juanitasari Winaga, IP Consultant, Januar Jahja & Partners (Indonesia)

Even though the pandemic has increased the chances of remote working, isolation has changed how women are supported in various careers. Whether networking, hiring, retaining, or maintaining a work and life integration, the support structure provided by both an individual and an organization continuously shifts the scales of balance. Whether you work from home or in the office, there is still a need for coping mechanisms for managing personal demands while on the job and vice versa.

Self-care and time management are the foundations of any support unit. Balancing work and life is not only seen amongst women but also men, as they take an active role in their partner’s lives or are themselves single units, looking for allies. Support can come in many forms, whether in relationships, companionship, with family members, or even hiring. What do they have in common? What are the work implications of being single or part of a family unit on the personal and wider socio-economy?

Whether socially, financially, or culturally: How do women manage their work and life without hindering their needs, and do their social and cultural sentiments remain kept?

In this session, members are invited to shift the scales and address challenges faced by both men and women in the pursuit of integrating work and life.

Topic highlights include:

• Digging deep to discover your own integration of work and life
• Using communication as an effective tool to balance the scale within your home and work ecosystems or both
• What are the practical tools, and who are the support mechanisms to help reach a work and life integration
• Learning about what other organizations are doing to shift the scales for their employees

Moderator:

• David Lossignol, Global Head, Legal Brand Protection, Novartis International AG (Switzerland)

Speakers:

• Jennifer Jones, President of the (Rotary International (USA)
• Uma Thana Balasingam, Vice President, Partner & Commercial Sales Asia Pacific & Japan of VMware and Co-Founder of Lean-In (Singapore)
• Carrie Fan, Director of Global Communications, Tencent (USA)
• Rachel Armstrong, Partner at Gowling WLG (UAE)
• Auma Reggy, Managing Lead Counsel of McKesson Corporation (USA)

Join our fireside chat as women leaders share their experiences navigating through a space in which traditionally underrepresented by women. Be prepared to hear the speakers inspiring stories as they discuss how they made their voices heard and became successful in the male dominated tech and STEM world.

Moderator:

• Deborah Hampton, Senior Trademark & Copyright Program Manager, The Chemours Company FC, LLC

Speakers:

• Lisa Knight, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, AIG (USA)
• Nuria Lopez, Partner, Daniel Law (Brazil)
• Lata Setty, Founding LP, Investor, and Diligence Lead, How Women Invest (USA)