Letter from CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo

Over the years, I have come to see just how valuable it is to be part of this community. This community spirit filters throughout our Board, our leadership, our various committees, and our global membership. No doubt, it is good for our Association, for our industry, and for our 35,000+ members around the world.

With this in mind, I welcome you to Boston and INTA’s 141st Annual Meeting. Let me take this opportunity to thank the Annual Meeting Project Team, led by Cynthia Johnson (Walden, Fish & Richardson P.C., USA) and Ronald van Tuijl (JT International S.A., Switzerland), and the INTA staff for putting together this event for all of us. It’s a tremendous undertaking, and I’m always left a bit awestruck at the end result.

Ahead of us are five days of world-class educational programming. It features thought leaders from the global intellectual property (IP) community and business professionals from an array of industries that intersect with brands, trademarks, and related IP. In between your business meetings, I encourage you to take full advantage of the educational sessions as well as the numerous networking events, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and countless other activities on the schedule.

"Ahead of us are five days of world-class educational programming."

Be sure to download the Annual Meeting mobile app. It contains all the information you’ll need to build your schedule, navigate the Meeting efficiently, and interact with other registrants. The Annual Meeting also takes place online via a dedicated Annual Meeting LinkedIn Group, and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Join the conversations at #INTA2019!

Tomorrow, at 4:30 pm, is the Opening Ceremony; don’t miss it! Cynthia and Ronald will offer insight into the week’s action-packed schedule. They will also share tips about our gracious host city: Cynthia is a native Bostonian! Without giving too much away, during his address, INTA President David Lossignol (Novartis Pharma AG, Switzerland) will share with us a distinctive outlook of the positive role that brands play in the world and his vision for how we can work together to support brands in this role. Our keynote speaker, Michael Haddad, will inspire us with his personal story of triumph in the face of adversity and share with us how, even when times are hard, we can make the world a better place.

I usually present the State of the Association during the Opening Ceremony. This year, I look forward to doing something a little different.

To learn more about the Association’s activities on a regular basis, I encourage you to follow us on social media, visit our website, read our 2018 Annual Report and other publications, and, during the Annual Meeting, pick up the INTA Daily News every day. While here in Boston, it’s one of the best ways for you to learn about INTA’s activities and advocacy work from the past year, catch up on industry news and trends from around the world, and, of course, know what’s happening every day during the course of the week ahead.

I wish you all a productive Meeting, and a safe and enjoyable stay in Boston.