IPH announces record Principal promotions as it advances next generation of IP leadership

Promotions

1 July 2026

IPH Limited (ASX: IPH), a leading global intellectual property services group, today announced 33 promotions across its member firms, effective 1 July 2026, including a record 15 appointments to Principal. 

The promotions span IPH’s member firms across Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Asia, reflecting the Group’s continued investment in developing specialist intellectual property talent and strengthening leadership capability across its practices. 

The 2026 promotions include practitioners from trade marks, chemical and life sciences, engineering and ICT, and legal and litigation teams. The 15 new Principals represent the largest Principal promotion cohort in the Group’s history, highlighting the depth of expertise being developed across the business and reinforcing IPH’s long-term succession planning and leadership pipeline. 

IPH Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Tony O’Malley said the appointments recognise outstanding professional achievement while positioning the Group for continued growth. 

“These promotions reflect the exceptional calibre of people across our member firms and the strength of the talent pipeline we continue to build throughout the Group,” said Mr O’Malley. 

“The appointment of a record 15 new Principals is a significant milestone. It demonstrates our commitment to recognising excellence, developing future leaders and ensuring our clients continue to have access to some of the world’s leading intellectual property professionals.” 

“As innovation continues to accelerate globally, the depth of expertise, collaboration and knowledge across our firms will remain one of our greatest competitive advantages. These promotions further strengthen our ability to support clients across jurisdictions while creating meaningful career opportunities for our people.” 

The newly appointed Principals are: 

AJ Park 

Dr Victoria Argyle, Principal, Law 

Daniel Thorpe, Principal, Engineering & ICT 

Griffith Hack 

Jessica Lee, Principal, Engineering & ICT 

Shannon Fati, Principal, Law 

ROBIC 

David Salem, Principal, Chemical & Life Sciences 

Michael Ionescu, Principal, Engineering & ICT 

Jules Gaudin, Principal, Law 

Smart & Biggar 

Mike Sgro, Principal, Chemical & Life Sciences 

Nora Labbancz, Principal, Trade Marks 

Brandon Heard, Principal, Law 

Tierney Deluzio, Principal, Trade Marks 

Christie Bates, Principal, Trade Marks 

Spruson & Ferguson Asia 

Charles Wang, Principal, Engineering & ICT 

Spruson & Ferguson Australia 

David Hvasanov, Principal, Chemical & Life Sciences 

Ken Johnstone, Principal, Chemical & Life Sciences   

The promotions take effect from 1 July 2026.

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