Chief operating officer named as Glasgow IP firm Murgitroyd bolsters leadership team

Murgitroyd IP, the Glasgow-headquartered intellectual property business, has bolstered its leadership team after making two senior appointments.

Left to right: Joanne Lecky, newly-appointed managing director of Murgitroyd’s trade mark group; Helen Archibald, the company’s new chief operating officer; and Gordon Stark, chief executive. Picture: Peter Devlin

Helen Archibald has been appointed chief operating officer and Joanne Lecky is to be managing director of the company’s trade mark group. They will both report directly to chief executive Gordon Stark.

Murgitroyd’s IP business was established in Glasgow in 1975. It now has 15 offices in Europe, four client liaison operations in the US and an office handling patent searching in Nicaragua.

The company, previously listed on the stock market, employs more than 75 patent and trade mark professionals and has some 320 members of staff.

Archibald joins the firm from Thorntons Law, the legal services firm, where she had been chief operating officer since 2016.

Stark said: “As one of the world’s largest patent and trade mark attorney firms, Murgitroyd IP has ambitions to grow further and having the right senior team in place to support that growth is vital.

“We are thrilled to attract someone of Helen’s calibre to Murgitroyd. Helen will lead business operations across our international office network and her experience in legal professional services will enhance our ability to focus on strategic delivery, operational efficiency and the use of technology to support our growth ambitions.

“Joanne Lecky is a skilled trade mark attorney, trusted by her clients to support their brands. She has also demonstrated the drive and leadership skills to ensure that our trade mark group remains a leader in its field and responds to the changing needs of brand owners as they embrace an increasingly digital world.”

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