Outgoing AIPPI-US Chair Maria Scungio called the meeting to order at 3 p.m. on October 26, 2018.
Secretary Kelly G. Hyndman facilitated the annual election of officers and steering committee members. The officers elected included
President-Elect: Barbara Fiacco
Chair: Marc Richards
Vice-Chair: Chris Carani
Secretary: Kelly G. Hyndman
Treasurer: Dale Nelson
Immediate Past-Chair: Maria Scungio
The steering committee members elected included
Sharon Israel
Kim Van Voorhis
Phil Swain
Andrea Kamage
Josh Goldberg
Patrick Coyne
Monica Barone
Dennis Prahl
Maria then reported to the membership the highlights of the prior year and discussed the challenges we can expect in the coming years. Renata Righetti Pelosi, the President of AIPPI International, addressed the membership as well and shared her vision for cooperation between the Bureau and national groups such as AIPPI-US.
Also present from the Bureau were Olga Sirakova (Secretary General), Arno Hold (Executive Director), and Cinzia Petruzzello (Director of Meetings and Operations).
Stephen Jones, President of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys in the United Kingdom (CIPA) and CIPA president-elect Julia Florence attended the meeting, and Stephen spoke briefly about the upcoming 2019 AIPPI Congress to be held in London, and invited AIPPI-US members also to consider attending the 2019 CIPA annual meeting that will immediately follow the Congress.
Marc Richards, the new Chair, shared with Maria Scungio his thanks and the thanks of all AIPPI-US members for her service and her leadership that, during the past two years, have enabled AIPPI-US to grow and to excel in its important work.