The Federal Council has elected Corina Eichenberger-Walther as President of the Institute Council of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property within the framework of the elections of the extra-parliamentary commissions and federal management bodies. Also elected to the Institute Council is Prof. Dr. Oliver Gassman, while the other members of the council were re-elected for the 2020-2023 term of office.

 

Succeeding Dr. iur. Felix Hunziker Blum, who has given up his office due to a 12-year tenure limitation, Corina Eichenberger-Walther will take up her position as President of the Institute Council of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) on 1 January 2020. She will be the first woman to head the highest supervisory organ of the IPI. Eichenberger-Walther has a wide range of experience in management positions as a partner and consultant in a law firm in Basel. She has also held various political mandates over many years, including most recently as a long-standing member of the National Council.

 

Also leaving the IPI’s Institute Council following 12 years in office is Prof. Dr. Roman Boutellier. His seat will be taken by another representative from the field of science, Prof. Dr. Oliver Gassman. Gassman is a professor of Technology Management at the University of St. Gallen, with a particular focus on innovation management. This focus on innovation and technology transfer ensures valuable competencies with regard to the interdisciplinary composition of the collegial body.

 

The Institute Council of the IPI is composed of a collegial body of nine people. All other current members have been confirmed by the Federal Council for the 2020-2023 term of office. With a 44 per cent proportion of women, the IPI’s Institute Council exceeds the Confederation’s target concerning gender distribution.