IP experience and expertise
We’re extremely fortunate at MaxVal to have a leadership team whose experience and expertise are both deep and complementary. It starts right at the top: we are the only leading IP solution provider whose CEO is a practicing IP attorney.
Whether it’s drawing upon the experiences of developing IP strategy for a Fortune 500 company, sitting on invention review committees, or pursuing international filing strategies, the leadership team has a “walked a mile in your shoes” degree of familiarity with our clients’ IP challenges and opportunities.
Bommi founded MaxVal in 2004 to help companies optimize the management of patent lifecycles and maximize the value of their patents. His initial efforts in monetizing patents in the life sciences arena led to a sophisticated approach at MaxVal for processing patent portfolios in various sectors for monetization. Bommi has assembled a talented leadership team that operates globally to develop high-quality, cost-effective solutions for patent groups.
Bommi’s patent experience started as an inventor while a graduate student, then becoming a patent agent at his job as a research scientist, followed by various stints at the Bay Area’s many prestigious law firms such as Morrison Foerster, Cooley Godward, and Thelen Reid & Priest, and in-house at companies like Alza. Bommi’s exposure to patent practice at law firms and in-house has given him a unique perspective that has laid the foundation for many of the solutions offered by MaxVal.
Before founding MaxVal, Bommi was the CEO at NTERO Surgical, Inc., a medical device company that he co-founded with support from Menlo Ventures, where he learned to handle the challenges of raising capital, assembling a top notch team and developing products. Bommi’s work experience includes research and management positions at Merck, Cygnus, and Alza. He is an inventor on more than 20 patents and has published more than 50 articles in scientific journals. He is a registered patent attorney (USPTO and California).
Education
Rob is the General Counsel for MaxVal. He has been instrumental in representing the organization as a legal counsel since 2014.
Rob brings more than 30 years of legal experience to MaxVal, having advised start-up and venture-backed software and other technology companies as a lawyer and been a partner at Fenwick & West LLP and Reed Smith LLP, and having founded Dellenbach Venture Counsel.
Rob has also served as General Counsel of Accela, Inc. and as Outside General Counsel to hundreds of other clients in Silicon Valley and around the world.
Education
As head of MaxVal’s Professional Services Organization (PSO) team, Murali is responsible for representing client interests and implementing MaxVal products and services, including Symphony, Max-IDS, and Annuity Payment products.
Murali brings more than 25 years of technology leadership experience in optimizing business processes and implementing enterprise software solutions for industry-leading organizations. He served as the CPO at PayPal, where he oversaw the implementation of technology solutions for multiple legal applications, including eDiscovery, Legal Operations, Contracts Management, Law Enforcement, and IP Management. Prior to PayPal, he managed eBay’s legal enterprise technology strategies and Altera’s ERP implementation.
Education
M.Tech. CAD/CAM, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
B.Eng., Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering
Suresh spearheads MaxVal’s India operations, driving overall delivery, performance, quality, growth, and process improvements.
Suresh brings with him over 22 years of highly diverse experience in managing business operations, offshoring, managed services, and technology outsourcing. He also has vast experience in Global Transitions, having worked with large US corporations such as GE and SGS across geographies managing large cross-functional teams and solution designing. He is a Six sigma champion and has mentored several projects and lean initiatives.
Education
As COO, Venu is responsible for MaxVal’s day-to-day operations, focusing on sales, product management, engineering, and services.
With more than 25 years of leadership experience, Venu previously served as President and General Manager of the IP Management Division of Clarivate. There, he led the transformation of the business to significant growth and profitability, leading to its acquisition by CPA Global. After the acquisition, Venu also took over the responsibility of Chief Product Officer of CPA Global until the merger back with Clarivate.
Most recently, Venu was the Global Head of Product Management at NICE Actimize. Earlier, he was the Vice President of Product Management, Engineering, and Operations at Knovel, leading its successful exit to Reed Elsevier in less than two years. Venu was also the Vice President of Product and Engineering for SaaS and Cloud Services and Vice President of Global Marketing at CA Technologies, where he led several strategic acquisitions to drive CA’s growth in SaaS.
Education
As Head of Sales and Marketing at MaxVal, Kurt is responsible for all customer-facing messaging and business development, ensuring professionalism with all interactions.
With over 30 years of sales, marketing, product, and customer service experience, with close to 20 of those in IP, Kurt joined MaxVal with a track record of success delivering technological value to customers and prospects. Kurt’s experience at Oracle, Netscape, MarkMonitor, and more recently, First To File, CPA Global, and Lecorpio, have given him an appreciation for putting the customer first.
Education
Ashwin leads the Product Engineering team at MaxVal to achieve technology transformation of our products and solutions that adapt to the needs of an evolving global consumer and business.
Ashwin brings over 12 years of rich experience working at Oracle, where he developed and managed strategic programs, including the IPR and Patenting Program. He was also an accredited trainer from the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI) for the foundation course in Intellectual Asset Management.
Education
We’re also extremely fortunate to have assembled a leadership team composed of highly accomplished individuals. Experts in their respective fields, know exactly how to architect and develop exceptional software products and solutions that meet the needs of companies that search the globe for the very best and ultimately choose MaxVal.
Suja leads the operations of the Search & Analytics team at MaxVal. She brings over 25 years of expertise in customer, project, and people management in the IP services domain. A registered Indian patent agent, Suja is instrumental in forming a team that designs and executes strategies to help customers recognize patentable ideas, avoid patent infringement, defend against litigation, evaluate licensing opportunities, monitor competitors’ patent portfolios, and more.
Her expertise prior to MaxVal included patent indexing, patent abstraction, chemical structure indexing, and patent translation.
Education
As the Vice President of Marketing at MaxVal, Elisa is responsible for overall marketing strategy and execution, including demand generation, brand awareness, PR, and communications.
Recognized as an industry thought leader in the IP management and brand protection space, Elisa brings with her 25 years of enterprise marketing experience. Having served in various executive leadership roles at Lecorpio, MarkMonitor, and Brandsight, Elisa brings extensive experience in patents, trademarks, and domains.
Education
Victoria Friedman is a seasoned patent and trademark attorney with over 20 years of experience guiding global clients through the full life cycle of intellectual property. Prior to joining Convergence Intellectual Property Law, she was Managing Director and Managing Partner at Dennemeyer and Associates. Before that she led a Local Practice Group for McDermott Will & Emery and held positions with Mayer Brown and McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP. She is widely recognized for her strategic, hands-on approach to IP portfolio management across a range of industries. A frequent speaker and trusted advisor, Victoria is skilled in prosecution, enforcement, licensing, M&A, IPMS consulting, and more. Known for her leadership and client-centric mindset, she has built and mentored high-performing legal teams and consistently delivers practical, results-driven IP solutions.
JD/LLM, Law/Intellectual Property
BS, Computer Information Systems
Jonathan is a registered patent attorney who focuses on patent preparation and prosecution, and classification of patent portfolios.
Total years of experience and previous organizations he’s worked with? His technology expertise includes medical devices, biotechnology, and software. Experienced in large-scale patent portfolio analysis and evaluation, Jonathan specializes in post-grant patent matters, including patent term adjustment calculations and petition drafting.
Education
Tom heads the Patent Illustrations function at MaxVal. He has been instrumental in growing the illustrations team and practice. Since 2006, the team has illustrated patents for an impressive roster of clients, including Apple, Abbott, Roku, RIM, Jawbone, Clif Bar, Thule, Intuitive Surgical, and Google.
With over 28 years of experience, Tom started his career as an internal draftsman at Heartport, Inc. and later established his own drafting company that offered patent illustrations to several established companies (IBM, Medtronic, Plantronics, etc.) and prominent law firms (Fenwick & West, Townsend Townsend & Crew, and Burns Doane).
Education
Stephen oversees operations for MaxVal’s distinguished India IP Administrative Services team, recognized for its excellence in the industry segment. With over two decades of expertise in people, operations, project, and customer management within the IP services domain, he drives seamless customer support and fosters growth. He has played a pivotal role in managing & executing numerous large-scale customer transitions, from implementing leading-edge IPMS solutions to seamlessly transitioning extensive IP paralegal & docketing operations to offshore teams. His strategic vision and expertise consistently empower clients to achieve their objectives of cost efficiency, superior quality, and the efficient execution of their IP strategies.
Before joining MaxVal, Stephen excelled at organizations such as CPA Global, Ernst & Young, and Clarivate, where he spearheaded the IP administrative services team and operations and achieved remarkable growth in revenue, gross margins, customer retention, and satisfaction.
Educational Qualifications:
Sugathan heads the InfoSec and IT Infrastructure function at MaxVal. He specializes in information security, information risk management, business continuity, data privacy, and compliance.
Sugathan has more than two decades of experience in Application Development, Infrastructure Management, IT Operations, and Program governance. Prior to joining Maxval, he worked for Allianz Technologies, Churchill Insurance, and Polaris Software Labs in India, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. During that time, he held strategic positions such as Chief Information Officer, Deputy head of Assurance department, and Head of IT Projects.
He is a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Lead Auditor in ISO 27001, ISO 20001, and ISO 22301, PRINCE2, PMP, CSM, SAFE, ITILV3F, and COBIT Foundation Practitioner, and he stays current with the IT industry.
Education
As Vice President of IP Administrative Services, Kelly manages the worldwide IP Support Services (IPSS) team and customer success. She has been instrumental in scaling our go-to-market strategy, onboarding clients, and collaborating with the sales team to drive the growth of IPSS.
Kelly brings over 24 years of IP leadership experience and detailed client workflow understanding to the team. Prior to joining MaxVal, Kelly led the IP Admin business for Clarivate and, before that, was a leader in the CPA Global IPSS business.
Education
Michael manages the Search & Analytics team at MaxVal. He has been providing solutions that satisfy customers’ critical IP management needs for 20 years. He has previous experience in IP and general litigation. Prior to beginning his legal career, he worked in the Engineering and Geological Sciences department at Halliburton.
Education
As AVP of Professional Services at MaxVal, Neha manages the product implementation team, defines strategic goals, understands the business objectives of our clients, and liaises between the Product Development, Sales, and Cross-functional partners involved in the implementation.
Neha is a seasoned Patent Professional with over 16 years of expertise encompassing multiple aspects of the patent life cycle. Her skills include patent drafting, searches, competitor/market analysis, supporting invention ideation, corporate IP orientation, and comprehensive management of IP support services for Fortune 500 firms. She holds PMP certification and is skilled in overseeing transitions and migrations for IP portfolio management processes across different projects.
Education
Before joining MaxVal, Leon Steinberg was the Managing Director of North America at Dennemeyer, the Chairman of the Black Hills IP Group, CEO of FoundationIP, CEO of Intellevate, CEO of Meritas, and President of Law and Politics Magazine. He was also a partner at the Maslon law firm.
Leon Steinberg has spoken before dozens of audiences on business and IP topics. He has been a guest lecturer at several business and law schools, including Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, William Mitchell, and St. Thomas. He has received numerous awards, including being a three-time recipient of the prestigious American Jurisprudence Award.
Education
As Vice President of Renewals at MaxVal, Paula is responsible for IP Renewals. She has deep and broad experience in IP, holding senior roles in patent and trademark renewal operations, account management, and customer service. She is known for creating and maintaining strong client relationships by understanding their needs, advocating on their behalf, and ensuring the business delivers on its promise.
As an industry veteran, Paula most recently held the position of Vice President, Customer Service at Clarivate, where she was responsible for the renewal service delivery team. She is licensed to practice law in the State of Michigan and is Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certified.
Education
Bala oversees the Professional Services Organization (PSO) at MaxVal. He brings overall 25 years of work experience, 18+ years of which is in the IP sector, setting teams up and managing various IP services. He started as the first employee of the India operations in 2005, rising to head the Services group. He has been instrumental in growing MaxVal’s India operations. Currently, he is in charge of the implementation of MaxVal’s flagship products Symphony and Max-IDS, as well as product support.
Education
Landon Teague is a seasoned sales leader with a passion for building high-performing teams and delivering exceptional client experiences. As VP of Sales, Americas at MaxVal, he is responsible for driving growth across the region, deepening customer relationships, and expanding the company’s market presence.
Landon brings over a decade of experience in sales leadership, with previous roles at Blackhawk Network, Clarivate, and CPA Global. At Blackhawk Network, he led the development of a mid-market sales organization and successfully integrated a key acquisition into the broader business. Prior to that, he held senior leadership roles at Clarivate and CPA Global, where he built and scaled inside sales teams, optimized post-acquisition sales processes, and helped drive global go-to-market strategies.
His leadership philosophy is rooted in trust, coaching, and empowerment. Landon is known for developing emerging leaders, fostering a customer-first mindset, and building scalable processes that create lasting impact for both teams and clients.
Education
Mohit heads Product Management at MaxVal. He has extensive experience in developing technology solutions for the legal and business services industry.
He has been part of the founding team of two startups (acquired by Open Text and Intapp) that delivered legal compliance solutions to some of the largest global law firms. With a deep focus on compliance and automation, he advised and helped implement compliance and risk management solutions at some of the largest law firms and consulting organizations in the US and Europe. Mohit has sold and implemented software solutions for 65% of the AMLAW 200 firms in the US, Magic Circle UK law firms and Big Four accounting firms.
Education
Venkat manages the Product Engineering group in India.
Venkat brings in 12+ years of IP experience at Maxval, involved in product development and infrastructure management. He has overall 33 years of IT experience in custom software development, Oracle Application, and SAP implementation for global clients. Prior to joining MaxVal, he delivered IT solutions to a range of industries (banking, port management, supply chain, manufacturing and logistics) in the Asia pacific region.
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