Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick is grateful to have a team of unique, inspiring and talented individuals. For the past 8 years, we have been led by our Managing Principal, Ross McFarlane, however, it is with mixed emotions that we announce Ross McFarlane’s retirement from Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick effective 30 June 2024.
Ross began his professional career as a Technical Assistant with POF in 1987. In 1991, he moved to Europe where he worked with The Swatch Group in Switzerland as an in-house patent attorney. After returning to Australia in the late 90s, Ross worked as a patent and trademarks attorney before re-joining POF as a Principal in 2006. In 2016, Ross was appointed as managing principal where he has successfully led POF for the past 8 years.
During his time at POF, Ross has been successful in many professional achievements. Ross was shortlisted as a finalist in the IP Category of the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year (Australia) Awards in both 2016 and 2018, named as an IP Star in the 2020 Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars Handbook. Ross was also recognised as a leading practitioner in the 2020 IAM Patent 1000. Ross also oversaw many firm-wide achievements such as the successful handling of the firm during the Covid-19 pandemic and the creation of our first Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Most significantly, Ross modernised the management of POF by introducing new management practices and governance structures.
Our current Board Chair, Andrew Massie, will be stepping into the role of Managing Principal of POF effective 1 July 2024. Andrew is a member of the Engineering Team at POF and has been our Board Chair since 1 July 2021.
Andrew graduated as a Mechanical Engineer in 1987 and after two years’ industrial experience in the packaging industry, commenced with POF in 1989. He now has more than 30 years’ intellectual property (IP) experience in the mechanical and civil engineering fields.
Outside of POF, Andrew has held several roles with AIPPI Australia (Australian chapter of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property) including as President from 2013 to 2017. Andrew is currently the AIPPI Australia representative on the AIPPI International Communications Committee. These roles have allowed him to stay at the forefront of local and international developments in IP, in addition to showcasing his successful leadership.
Please join us in wishing Ross the best in his well-deserved retirement and in welcoming Andrew to his new role.
