A CIPA EDI event: IP BD for the Neurodivergent
Enabling and recognising Strength Through Diversity
Learning and advice for managers, neurodivergent IP professionals and allies
Tuesday 14 July 2026
12.30 – 1.30 pm, online
Business development, whether part of internal management and leadership, or revenue generation, is central, to almost every role in the IP profession. However, BD in the IP world is largely built around a neurotypical template. The confident networker. The room-worker. The person who thrives on small talk and follows up without fail. But what if that is not you, or the people you work with and/or manage – what if that is not the whole picture of what impactful BD looks like?
Neurodivergent IP professionals, whether with ADHD, ASD, or other characteristics, often bring remarkable BD strengths: deep expertise, trusted client relationships, creativity, and candour. Yet they can also face real challenges in a world that measures BD success in a particular way, and that misreads different as deficit.
Join CIPA for this practical and candid session as we bring together IP professionals and managers with lived experience, and those who have navigated BD and progression in the IP world. We will explore what BD can look like through a neurodivergent lens, how neurodivergent professionals can navigate a world set up for neurotypical BD, and how managers can recognise and nurture the BD potential of their neurodivergent colleagues.
Everyone is welcome. Whether you are neurodivergent yourself, manage or work alongside someone who is, or simply want to build a more inclusive team, this session is for you!
Meet the speakers
Caelia Bryn-Jacobsen, Kilburn & Strode
Caelia is recognised as one of the patent profession’s leading experts in contentious proceedings. IAM Patent 1000 describes her as “one of the finest European attorneys, a true credit to the profession”. Bringing 30 years’ experience in IP, Caelia specialises in complex, high-stakes contentious proceedings, including multi-jurisdictional cases, before the EPO and UP. Caelia’s physics degree and an award-winning doctorate from Oxford University provide a strong foundation for her passion, and expertise in a range of technical fields, particularly MedTech and healthcare. She works closely with CEOs, IP leaders, and investors, and is trusted for her strategic, commercially astute approach.
Caelia plays an active role in the wider profession. She is an elected Council Member of CIPA, a Chair of CIPA’s UPC Committee, Chair of its Professional Development Working Group, and is an Advisory Board Member for IP Inclusive. One of the founding members of the IP Ability Committee, Caelia champions inclusion with focus on neurodiversity, strengthened from both family, and profession contexts. She chairs Kilburn & Strode’s charity fund. In between IP, bringing up her family, and as much cycling as possible, she has run a small vineyard in Kent for several years.
George Lucas, British American Tobacco
George Lucas is a patent attorney at British American Tobacco in London. He was diagnosed at 11 years old with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. He is passionate about EPO oppositions, the importance of neurodiversity, and Dungeons & Dragons.
Loreta Dimech-Mencattelli, Marks & Clerk
Info to follow shortly.
How to register
This event is free to all IP Inclusive supporters; you will have to register for the CIPA website if you don’t already have an account. This is free to do.
Please register via the CIPA website, here.
If you have any access requirements, please do get in touch with us at [email protected].