Advisors

Technology Transfer Advisors:

Ian D. McClure

Ian joined the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) as its director in 2016. Ian began his career as a Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and Intellectual Property (IP) transactions attorney with Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP in Louisville. Following private practice, he helped raise over $20M and built a startup company in Chicago focused on technology and IP licensing. Ian led that company through product development, capital raise, proof of concept and growth to 30+ full-time employees. He was responsible for identifying, originating, and developing high-value IP and technology licensing programs with leading global corporations, universities, and research laboratories.

Most recently, Ian was vice president of IP Strategy for Black Stone IP, an investment bank headquartered in San Francisco focused on IP-rich M&A, IP deals, and technology-driven transactions. In parallel, he has taught Global IP Management and Maximizing IP Value as an adjunct professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law. Ian has published extensively in law and business journals related to the intersection of IP, business process, and corporate governance, including with top IP & Technology law reviews such as UC Berkeley, Fordham University, and Santa Clara University. He has presented to numerous symposiums and conferences on IP licensing, valuation, risk and strategy, and currently chairs the Regulatory Committee of the Licensing Executives Society (LES). For his work as an academic, entrepreneur and IP transactions specialist, Ian has been named by Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) Magazine to the IP Strategy 300 – The World’s Leading IP Strategists (2012-present).

Ian graduated cum laude with a degree in economics from Vanderbilt University, magna cum laude with a Juris Doctorate from Chapman University School of Law, and a Master of Laws in Intellectual Property Law (L.L.M.) from DePaul University College of Law.

Richard Giersch

Rich Giersch is the Director of Health Sciences Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization for West Virginia University (WVU) and Chairman of the Board for the Bioscience Association of West Virginia. After graduating from WVU he attended UNC-Chapel Hill for graduate school. He has held Director level positions at two venture capital firms, was the chief operating officer of a biotech company in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and the Chief Science Officer for the New Jersey Center for Biomaterials at Rutgers University. He has helped companies secure over $100 million in federal funding, tax, and relocation incentives and is co-founder and CEO of Valtari Bio, a WV company developing back of ambulance precision diagnostics for stroke.  Valtari’s foundational technologies were licensed from NINDS and WVU.