Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am a lawyer by profession, with a focus on professional regulation. After starting my legal career in private practice, I became a policy lawyer at the Law Society of Upper Canada (now the Law Society of Ontario). In 2019 I moved to LawPRO, where, as the Director of, PracticePRO, I was on the LawPRO Executive Team and led the claims prevention and risk management program.
I grew up in Ottawa, completed my undergraduate studies in Montreal and now live in Toronto with my family. I’m a hockey fan, although I’m a decidedly D level player.
Why were you interested in becoming CPATA’s CEO & Registrar?
I have dedicated my career to and am passionate about excellence in professional regulation, public protection, and public interest-based legal services regulation. Since CPATA fills a significant regulatory function for IP professionals and the public, it faces many policy and operational challenges. How do we make sure IP agents receive excellent service from their regulator? What does our developing competency framework for IP agents address? Should foreign– trained professionals be able to qualify for Canadian IP agent status? And how might technology disrupt the traditional means of providing IP services? These issues and others will require a sophisticated regulatory response. Being involved in continuing CPATA’s evolution excites me.
How has your work until now prepared you to lead a new regulator like CPATA?
I deeply respect the regulatory objectives and principles CPATA has adopted. My experience has been in applying professional regulatory principles in diverse areas including licensing and professional conduct policy. I’m looking forward to continuing to build CPATA’s approaches in these areas.
My experiences working with stakeholders and boards will help me lead CPATA. I welcome the opportunity to facilitate CPATA’s maturing governance. I have worked with Canadian law societies, and the Federation of Law Societies. For lawyer licensees, the issues involved in co-regulation are crucial, and I look forward to working with my law society colleagues on these issues. I am also looking forward to developing connections with IP professionals, government and stakeholders to better understand Canada’s IP protection ecosystem.
What is your vision for CPATA with you as CEO?
My focus on regulation and risk prevention will help me build on CPATA’s vision and strategy so it becomes a best-in-class regulator. Having spent years in legal services regulation and risk management, my aim is to breathe life into CPATA’s modern regulatory objectives.
My goal is to lead the excellent staff team by encouraging collaborative, team-based problem solving, and embracing innovation mindsets.
Any final thoughts?
It’s an honour to be leading CPATA at a time when innovation and IP rights are so vital to Canada and its long-term economic prospects. Patent agents and trademark agents work in the protection of creative ideas, invention and the processes that preserve what is innovative. This is an exciting time to be committed to protecting the public’s interests in this work.
