2025
Background
Rene Chung was retained by a global innovation and technology licensing organisation to support a series of strategic hires within its growing Barcelona office. The organisation works with leading companies and research institutions worldwide, delivering tailored licensing solutions and patent programmes to support the commercialisation of advanced technologies.
By 2024, the business had established itself as a significant player in the global IP ecosystem, with multiple licensing programmes across a range of technology areas and an extensive international network of licensees and licensors.
The mandate focused on building out key capabilities across IP Licensing, legal, and financial functions to support the continued expansion of its licensing activities.
Criteria
We were instructed to identify three complementary roles:
- An IP Licensing Manager, responsible for expanding the licensee base and driving licensing revenue
- A Legal Counsel, supporting patent monetisation and related legal activity
- A Financial Modeller & Revenue Analyst, with a strong analytical and technical background, tasked with developing financial models and supporting commercial and business development initiatives
All roles were to be based in the client’s growing Barcelona office.
We conducted a pan-European search across specialised IP Licensing, legal, and financial talent pools, targeting individuals with the technical expertise, commercial acumen, and interpersonal skills required to operate effectively in a complex and evolving market.
Challenges
The combination of technical expertise, commercial understanding, and interpersonal skills required for these roles made the available talent pool highly limited. Professionals within IP Licensing & Monetisation are scarce and in high demand across major jurisdictions.
A key requirement was identifying individuals with strong licensing negotiation experience, including those who had played a meaningful role in complex licensing transactions. While the Legal Counsel search produced a strong local candidate pool, relatively few candidates had experience within the SEP landscape.
The search for a Financial Modeller & Revenue Analyst further highlighted a gap in the European market, where candidates with the required blend of technical capability and commercial awareness are particularly limited.
These specialised and fragmented talent pools make successful delivery highly dependent on deep market knowledge, credibility within the space, and an established international network.
Outcome
Rene Chung led the assignment, delivering shortlists across all three mandates within a short timeframe. The calibre of candidates resulted in a highly competitive selection process.
All roles were successfully filled, securing individuals with the expertise and profile required to support the client’s continued growth. The strength of the shortlisted talent was such that an additional hire was made beyond the original scope of the project.
Through a coordinated and targeted approach, the client was able to strengthen its IP Licensing, legal, and financial capabilities, positioning the team to support ongoing expansion and increasingly complex licensing activity.
If you are looking to expand your team, we support organisations in identifying leading talent in the IP Licensing and Monetisation space.
