A seasoned commercial intellectual property and legal professional with a proven track record in setting up a multi-national intellectual property department and dealing with complex projects relating to management, ownership and commercialization of intellectual property rights.

In 17 years+ of IP experience Andrè spent time in the most prestigious IP law firms in Africa and as the lead counsel for IP in the largest multinational pharmaceutical company in the southern hemisphere.  Having worked closely with stakeholders Andrè has developed a deep understanding of how commercial realities influence and impact the legal and IP landscape.

Andrè has further advised on the IP aspects of some of the most notable transactions on the African continent in the last three years with a particular focus on fintech, pharma (including bio-pharma), telecommunications and retail. In the last three years Andrè was ranked in WTR 1000, IAM 1000 and IP Stars for Commercial IP, while the previous team he worked in was ranked in the top tier and awarded as the top transactional IP team in Africa by Managing IP in 2022.

Andrè has been invited to speak on IP in South Africa and abroad on a wide range of topics, and  was a guest lecturer and external examiner for the LLM program at the University of KZN (South Africa).

André's mantra is “I absolutely love intellectual property law. If it were not my job, it would be my hobby.”