Our Team

ipPerformance Group’s team members possess extensive industry experience. Our consultants come from innovation-intensive organizations, where they play a vital role in the R&D, legal, business management, and marketing sectors. We have walked in your shoes; we understand the need to act quickly and be cost-effective.

ipPerformance Group’s mission is focused on helping our clients perform better strategic IP asset management to achieve tangible results. We combine benchmarking data, intellectual property asset management operations experience, technology expertise, and problem-solving methodologies.

We measure our results by your success.

Our professionals have extensive intellectual property asset management experience with innovation-intensive Fortune 250 corporations.

Robert Williamson
Rob is the founder and president of ipPerformance Group. He brings more than 25 years of experience in business and innovation management. Before founding ipPerformance, he served as a member of the senior management team at Delphion, where he led the effort to develop the company’s intellectual management software system.

Before his role at Delphion, Rob was an inventor and business director at Pitney Bowes, where he had four patents for supply chain and e-commerce technology.

Rob works with clients to evaluate their intellectual property asset management programs and key performance metrics. He brings insights to clients about the scale of change facing them and how they can work toward that change. He helps develop and implement transition plans and leadership transformation programs and clarifies the impact of business change on organizations and roles. Rob designs inventor reward strategies that support clients; business directions and supports clients through all stages of global program implementation.

Rob authors numerous articles on intellectual property best practices and phase-gate development.

Rob holds B.S. degrees from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and Whitman School of Management.

Sam Pace
Sam is a senior advisor. As an experienced intellectual property leader, Sam works with clients to align legal, technology, and business strategies to build commercially focused intellectual property strategies and operations. He effectively distills complex legal and technical subject matter into clear and understandable business issues and can lead strategic and tactical resolution. Sam has led intellectual property operations at global enterprises: Praxair, Tyco International, and The BOC Group.

Sam holds a B.S. from The Ohio State University and J.D. from Cleveland–Marshall College of Law.

Jim Tierney
Jim joined ipPerformance as an advisor. He works with major clients on intellectual property strategy formulation, portfolio management, training development, and licensing. Jim was formerly the Vice-President of Intellectual Property at Boeing Corporation. As one of the founding members of Boeing’s Intellectual Property Business, he designed the Patent Business – established the structure, defined the roles and responsibilities of the sub-organizations, and staffed the organizations. His responsibilities included IP strategy formulation, licensing opportunity development and completion, and invention disclosures.

Additionally, Jim had Top Secret U. S. Government security clearance. Before joining Boeing, Jim was Director of Licensing at Lucent Technologies. He managed an organization responsible for negotiating patent and technology licenses worldwide, primarily focused on assertion-based patent license negotiations. Additionally, Jim established “Licensing Best Practices” for Lucent.

Jim holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University. He has completed post-M.S. Engineering Credits at Columbia University.

Rich Rodrick
Rich joined ipPerformance Group in 2008. He advises major clients on patent law department operations and strategy development. Rich works with companies to evaluate their operational practices and personnel. He formerly served as chief patent counsel of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, insect control, and personal care.

Rich counseled company management on patent strategies, managed patent and related litigation, negotiated various intellectual property contracts, and oversaw the development of the attorneys in his department. He joined S.C. Johnson in 2002 after spending 22 years with Becton Dickinson and Company, where he held the positions of vice president and chief intellectual property counsel.

Rich holds a law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law.

Susan Romans
Susan joined ipPerformance Group in 2006. Her consulting work focuses on patent department back office operations.

Before joining ipPerformance, Susan led a team at Dana Corporation to develop standard operating procedures for patent procurement and prosecution, including streamlining the interface between outside and inside counsel.

Susan works with clients to organize their operational procedures in a global environment. She holds a B.S. degree from Lourdes College.

Leondo Phifer
Leondo joined ipPerformance in 2010. He focuses on operations consulting with a depth of practical patent department operational experience. Before joining ipPerformance, Leondo, a patent agent, was a Bowe Bell & Howell IP department member. He performed strategic and tactical intellectual property management and technical patent drafting. His other experience was with Leydig Voit & Mayer, where he was a technical advisor. Leondo executed all aspects of technical writing, illustrating, patent drafting, and prosecution for Fortune 100 clients.

Leondo earned a B.S. from Illinois Institute of Technology.