I work in brand protection with a particular focus on domain names, including strategy, monitoring, dispute resolution and online enforcement. I have spent over two decades working almost exclusively in this field, advising global organisations across multiple jurisdictions and industry sectors.
Current role
I am Head of Brand Protection at Com Laude, where I lead the firm’s brand protection function. My responsibilities include domain name strategy, monitoring programmes, dispute resolution and enforcement activity for global clients, ranging from large portfolios through to complex and precedent-sensitive matters.
I lead the brand protection function from Edinburgh, with responsibility for team leadership and office oversight, and am a director of one of Com Laude’s UK group companies. Alongside operational oversight, I am closely involved in the development of monitoring capability, internal processes and decision-making frameworks that support enforcement work at scale.
In addition to my core role, I have held responsibility for governance and organisational risk matters at group level, contributing to leadership discussions on accountability, inclusion and responsible decision-making.
Dispute resolution and policy work
I serve as an independent Expert for Nominet’s Dispute Resolution Service (DRS), a role I have held since 2012. In that capacity, I determine disputes relating to .uk domain names following the conclusion of the mediation process, and have decided a wide range of cases over an extended period.
I previously served as a member of Nominet’s .uk Policy Stakeholder Committee, contributing industry experience to the development and review of policy affecting the .uk domain name space. This work provided direct insight into how registry policy is formed, consulted on and implemented in practice.
Previous roles
Before joining Com Laude, I held a number of senior leadership roles at Demys, including Director of Brand Protection and Operations Director.
As Director of Brand Protection, I was responsible for the design and delivery of Demys’s online brand protection services, including the development of its domain name monitoring capability and associated prioritisation methodologies.
As Operations Director, I led the corporate domain name management function, with responsibility for service delivery across large and complex client portfolios, as well as operational teams, systems and processes.
Earlier in my career, I joined Demys as its first full-time employee, initially as Domain Name Manager and later as Senior Domain Name Manager, where I was responsible for day-to-day portfolio management and the development of the systems and processes that supported the business as it grew.
Education
I studied law at the University of Southampton, where I focused on intellectual property and information technology. My undergraduate dissertation examined the relationship between trade marks and domain names, written prior to the introduction of the UDRP.