Overview
Simon commenced as the Managing Director of Spruson & Ferguson Australia in his 16th year at the firm. Prior to taking on the MD role he held key leadership positions as head of the Australian Chemical/Life Sciences team and a Director of Spruson & Ferguson Australia.
Simon has proven to be an accomplished professional services leader during his time at the firm. After joining in early 2007 he was promoted to Principal after 6 years, and more recently has overseen the growth and development of the largest Chemical/Life Sciences patent team in Australia which he led from 2017-2022. He has a demonstrated ability to develop a strong culture of teamwork and collaboration in his roles to date.
Simon has secured and maintained key relationships with a number of the firm’s most prominent clients, and continues to actively engage in business development activities across the firm. He has a comprehensive knowledge of Spruson & Ferguson’s operations across Australasia, Southeast Asia, and China, collaborating regularly with colleagues in the firm’s network of offices throughout the region. He also brings a thorough understanding of the IP industry to the role having practised for 15+ years as a patent practitioner in the biotechnology field. Simon’s move into the IP profession was preceded by a significant period in medical research, where he specialised in virology, molecular biology, genetics and immunology. After graduating from the University of Sydney with a university medal he gained a PhD for his research on HIV antiretroviral drug resistance, also at the University of Sydney. Following this Simon conducted over 2 years of postdoctoral research at the Pasteur Institute in Paris as a CJ Martin Postdoctoral Fellowship recipient, before returning to Australia to join the IP profession.
Simon’s expertise has earned him recognition from a number of IP industry guides, in particular:
- IAM Patent 1000 (Australia) 2022; and
- Managing Intellectual Property 2022 IP Stars
- Australasian Lawyer 5-Star Intellectual Property Lawyer Awardee 2021
He is a fellow of The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia, and a member of The Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand.