IPReg is pleased to announce that it has appointed three new Board members. They are:
- Justin Bukspan – Justin is appointed as a professional member to the Trade Mark Regulation Board. Justin is a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney. He holds a first class law degree and a master's degree in international business law. Born and raised in France, Justin moved to the UK for his higher education and has lived and worked here since then. He was an account director in advertising and design agencies part of WPP, Omnicom, Interpublic and Havas, before requalifying as a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney and practising in large and boutique IP firms where he advised a wide range of client across a broad spectrum of matters. In parallel, he was also a trustee of a small housing and social care charity. Away from professional life, Justin plays the guitar, the bass guitar and the double bass and enjoys spending time with his young family.
- Victor Olowe – Victor is appointed as a lay member of the Trade Mark Regulation Board and of the Patent Regulation Board. Victor is a governance consultant, board reviewer and a former Chief Executive of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers with expertise in professional regulation, consumer protection, risk management and board governance. He is currently a Non-Executive Director/Member in a number of organisations including Chair of the CGMA Examination Board at CIMA/AICPA, Chair of Water UK’s Independent Sewerage and Water Adoption Panels and Chair of the Quality Assurance Scheme Sub-Committee at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
- Samantha Peters – Samantha is appointed as a lay member of the Trade Mark Regulation Board and of the Patent Regulation Board. Samantha is a management practitioner with some twenty years’ experience of leading organisations which represent the interests of professionals, their clients and the wider public. Samantha is a passionate advocate for professional regulation. She was Chief Executive and Registrar of the General Optical Council, the UK’s regulator for optical professionals and businesses, from 2011 to 2017. She is currently a lay director at the British Acupuncture Council and the British Dietetics Association. Samantha has an MBA from Cass Business School, where she received the Tallow Chandlers Award for her research on the subject of blind or excessive trust. This considered individual, organisational, and regulatory failure in high profile cases such as Harold Shipman and Nick Leeson (of Barings Bank). Samantha is currently in the final stage of her PhD at the University of Bath. Her thesis looks at the role that institutions can play in promoting or inhibiting professionals’ altruism towards their customers or clients. Samantha was born in the artistic seaside town of St Ives. Outside of work, she has a lifelong love of the creative industries. She is passionate about independent music, an enthusiastic festival and concert goer, and a lover of open mic performance poetry. Samantha can be found on Linked in and on Twitter @SPeters1001
The IPReg Chair, Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury said:
“I am delighted to welcome Samantha, Victor and Justin to the IPReg Board. They bring tremendous breadth and depth of experience which will be essential as we continue to review the full range of our regulatory arrangements. I would like very warmly to thank our departing Board members: Keith Howick, Alicia Chantrey, Steve Gregory and Nick Whitaker. They have all contributed enormous time and energy to our activities during their two terms of office.”