HAMBURG, Germany: In the association’s first electronic elections, CIOPORA members confirm Steven Hutton, Ball FloraPlant/Star Roses & Plants (USA), as CIOPORA President, elect CIOPORA Board 2020 – 2023 with member representatives from seven countries, including two first-time electees.
The new CIOPORA Board is comprised of ten individuals from breeding and licensing companies active in a broad range of horticultural cultivars:
- Steven Hutton Ball FloraPlant/Star Roses & Plants, USA – President
- Wendy Cashmore, Trajectory 762 Ltd./IPPartners, New Zealand – Co-Vice-President
- Dr Jan de Riek, ILVO Plant, Belgium – Co-Vice-President
- Dominique Thévenon, AIGN., France – Treasurer
- Michael Carriere, PhD, UC Davis Innovation Access, USA
- Bruno Etavard, Meilland International, France
- Maarten Leune, Royalty Administration International, The Netherlands
- Dean Rule, Conectiflor S.A./E.G. Hill, Ecuador
- Ingrid Slangen, Selecta one, Germany
- Peter van der Weijden, Florist Holland and HilverdaKooij, The Netherlands.
Steven Hutton has been re-elected by the overwhelming majority for the second three-year term as CIOPORA President. Since his election at the AGM 2017 in Toronto, the third-generation nurseryman and the past President & CEO of the Conard-Pyle Company/Star Roses & Plants has been successfully working on expanding CIOPORA’s outreach, with a focus on the US, and representing breeders’ interests worldwide. Thanking CIOPORA members for their trust, Steven said: “Being President of CIOPORA is a culmination of the work I have done most of my professional life, bringing new plants to the world’s gardens and making sure they have robust Intellectual Property (IP) protection.”
The first-time Board electees, Ingrid Slangen, Head of IP & Legal Affairs at Selecta one (Germany), and Michael Carriere, PhD, Assistant Director at UC Davis Innovation Access (USA), bring years of experience in IP for plant innovations to their new positions. Ingrid Slangen has been chairing the CIOPORA Crop Section Cut Flowers since 2012 and has recently assumed the position of the CIOPORA’s representative at the EU/CPVO. Michael Carriere has been representing UC Davis Innovation Access at CIOPORA since 2006 and brings the perspective of a world-leading public breeding institution to the table.
Along with inaugurating the new Board, CIOPORA says farewell to three outgoing Board members. After years of contributing to CIOPORA’s work, Rafi Karniel, Grapa Varieties Ltd. (Israel), Lars Henriksen, Floripartner A/S (Denmark) and the CIOPORA past Co-Vice President Per Klemm, Selecta one (Germany), decided not to run for the reelection due to other professional commitments. CIOPORA thanks the outgoing Board members for years of service and thousands of pro bono hours put towards the breeder community’s goals.
CIOPORA is the International Association of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Horticultural Varieties. Breeders of such varieties account for two-thirds of all Plant Variety Rights (PVR) titles in the world. For more than 50 years, CIOPORA has represented these breeders in all matters of Intellectual Property (IP) protection and aims to foster an environment in which the innovation of these breeders can flourish. CIOPORA is a member-based, not-for-profit organisation. www.ciopora.org
The CIOPORA Academy is a specialised international education programme on IP for plants tailored to the needs of the green sector. The formats include small-group workshops and live webinars. This learner community consists of plant breeders and other participants of the green value chain, as well as IP lawyers and patent attorneys. Workshops and webinars tackle topics surrounding IP for plant innovations and are taught by world’s leading IP experts. With its international workshops and webinars attracting hundreds of learners from over 20 countries, the CIOPORA Academy aspires to be a global reference program on IP for the green business. www.ciopora-academy.org
