protecting intellectual property in emerging markets
panel profiles

Yi Qian, Moderator
Professor of Marketing, Kraft Research Professor
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Yi Qian is Assistant Professor of Marketing and the Kraft Research Professor at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. Qian’s research interests shape around marketing strategies in the context of technology advancement and international trade. She applies this knowledge to propose successful business strategies to secure brand values and Intellectual Property Rights against counterfeits, and to suggest reasonable policies in adopting technology and absorbing foreign direct investments.

Prior to joining the Kellogg School, Qian taught courses on Advanced Econometrics and International Trade and Investments at Harvard University. At Kellogg, she teaches Marketing Research.

John F. Ginascol
Vice President, Nutrition Supply Chain
Abbott

John Ginascol is Vice President, Nutrition Supply Chain for Abbott’s global nutrition business, where he is responsible for global manufacturing, quality, distribution, transportation and logistics, sales and operations planning, technical services, and third-party manufacturing. He was appointed to his current position in December 2008.

Ginascol joined Abbott in 1982 and has worked in key manufacturing positions in several Abbott divisions including hospital products, medical devices, and nutrition. He has extensive experience managing operations in the United States, Puerto Rico, Europe, and Asia. Prior to joining Abbott, Ginascol worked in pharmaceutical manufacturing for Johnson & Johnson.

Ginascol is president of the board of directors of Countryside Association, a not-for-profit organization focused on supporting adults with disabilities. He earned a master’s degree in management from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin.

Mark Karasek
Executive Vice President of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer
The Chamberlain Group

Mark Karasek is Executive Vice President of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer of The Chamberlain Group, a market leader in the Access and related Security markets. The company holds the lead market share for all of its core products: garage door openers, commercial door operators, gate operators and telephone entry systems.

Karasek joined The Chamberlain Group in 1994 as a Senior Project Engineer in the Garage Door Opener Engineering Group, progressing to Executive Vice President of Engineering in 2006. Prior to joining Chamberlain, he held engineering positions at Illinois Tool Works, Applied Research Laboratory, and Wilson Sporting Goods.

Karasek is Chair of Strategic Development of The Kellogg Innovation Network, an industry group focused on innovation best practices. He is also a Distinguished Fellow and past President of the National Knowledge and Intellectual Property Management Taskforce. Karasek received a BS in Engineering Mechanics and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois, and a PhD in Polymer Science from the Pennsylvania State University.

Steven Parmelee
Partner
FitchEvenTabin&Flannery

Steve Parmelee is a partner at Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery, with over thirty years experience in all facets of intellectual property practice, both in the United States and in foreign countries. His experience includes portfolio reviews, defensive and enforcement studies, licensing, standards bodies representation, litigation, anti-counterfeiting activities, technology transfers, and various patent acquisition and maintenance activities. To date, Parmelee has personally prepared and filed well over one thousand U.S. patent applications.

Parmelee previously worked at Motorola as Vice-President and Director of Intellectual Property for Nascent and Emerging Technologies and also served as the Vice-President and Director of Portfolio Management. Parmelee has lived in Singapore where he managed various intellectual property activities throughout the Asia/Pacific region.

Parmelee has served for many years on the National Knowledge and Intellectual Property Management Taskforce, and authored a book entitled Strategic Patent Portfolio Management. Parmelee also authored a chapter for the publication entitled Business Power – Creating New Wealth from IP Assets, providing specific details about how to conduct inventing sessions to identify and fill holes in the patent portfolio of a given enterprise.

Lei Zhang Schlitz
Vice President, Research & Development
Illinois Tool Works, Inc.

Lei Schlitz is Vice President, Research and Development of Illinois Tool Works Inc., a Fortune 200 diversified and value-added manufacturer of highly engineered components and industrial systems and consumables. Schlitz directs the worldwide operations of the ITW Technology Center, working closely with ITW business leaders to ensure that their businesses stay on the cutting edge of technology.

ITW’s passion for creating commercial innovations is no secret, considering the company typically ranks in the top 100 of patent recipients in the United States. Today, ITW has over 20,000 unexpired patents and pending applications worldwide.

Prior to joining ITW, Schlitz spent seven years at Siemens Energy and Automation. She held numerous positions managing research and product development groups. Schlitz has a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Engineering from the University of Wisconsin.