Quarterhill Appoints Keaton Parekh as President and Chief Executive Officer of WiLAN

Quarterhill Inc (NASDAQ:QTRH;TSX:QTRH) announced the appointment of Keaton Parekh, an executive with extensive experience in technology strategy and licensing as president and chief executive officer of its subsidiary Wi-Lan Inc.

As quoted in the press release:

Douglas (Doug) Parker, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quarterhill said, “We are delighted to have Keaton as the new leader of WiLAN. With over 20 years of strategic experience in all aspects of IP, including licensing, litigation, sale and purchase of patent assets, and patent prosecution, Keaton has the skills, global perspective, and proven track record to drive our WiLAN business forward through its next phase of success.”

James (Jim) Skippen, Executive Chairman of Quarterhill and interim CEO of WiLAN said, “After an extensive search, we found a truly outstanding candidate for the WiLAN CEO position in Keaton Parekh.  Keaton is an accomplished patent attorney and experienced business leader with significant experience relevant to running a patent licensing enterprise.  I am confident he is the right person to continue WiLAN’s growth and leadership in this industry.”

Prior to Quarterhill, Mr. Parekh was Chief Intellectual Property Officer of Lumileds, where he built a global IP team and infrastructure and led the successful separation of Lumileds IP functions and assets from its parent Royal Philips.  Prior to Lumileds, Mr. Parekh held various senior legal and business roles with SanDisk Corporation, Rovi Corporation, and Tessera Technologies.  While in private practice, Mr. Parekh was a partner at the international law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery where he focused his practice on litigation.  He began his career as a patent attorney at the New York office of Stroock Stroock & Lavan and the Silicon Valley office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Mr. Parekh holds a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, a Bachelor of Science, Engineering, and Master of Science, Electrical Engineering, from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

“I am truly excited and proud to be joining WiLAN as CEO,” said Keaton. “WiLAN is a licensing industry leader and high quality organization well known for its innovation, robust patent portfolios and professionalism. The team at WiLAN is second to none. I will give my 100 percent into building on Jim Skippen’s many accomplishments during his long tenure as the leader of this company, so that we achieve even greater success in the future.”

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