Our Team
Brian Hinman
President & Chief IP Officer
Brian Hinman is one the world’s leading IP executives and investors. He has held senior executive positions at leading technology companies such as IBM, Verizon and InterDigital, and most recently Philips, where he served as its Chief IP Officer running Philips’ IP business unit and leading its IP litigation, IP licensing, portfolio management and strategy, and new IP venture investments. Brian was founding CEO of Allied Security Trust (AST) and co-founder of Unified Patents, Inc. Brian is ranked by Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) as one of the world’s top IP leaders. In 2023, Brian was inducted as a member of the IP Hall of Fame. He is based in Texas.
Erin Hudson
General Counsel & Secretary
Erin Hudson attended Baylor Law School in Waco, Texas. After graduating from law school magna cum laude, she clerked for United States District Judge Andrew S. Hanen in the Southern District of Texas. She began her legal career practicing corporate and securities litigation at Akin Gump in Dallas, Texas representing clients in complex corporate disputes. Since 2015, Erin has been in private practice in Austin, Texas where her focus shifted from litigation to transactional work, ranging from acquisitions and reorganizations to helping startups grow. Her diverse background has equipped her to navigate complex transactions and support businesses through critical stages. In her free time, Erin serves as president of the board of Learning Bridge – a nonprofit that provides free tutoring to children in foster care across central Texas from Bell to Hays County.
Pierre Hubert
Chief IP Counsel
Pierre Hubert has twenty-five years of experience serving as outside counsel for emerging and established technology companies managing IP litigation disputes and IP licensing involving complex technologies. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering. Pierre served as a two-year-term judicial law clerk at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Thereafter he served as a partner at some of the nation’s most prestigious law firms with a nationwide IP practice. He is a former President of the Austin Intellectual Property Law Association and is a longtime leader in the Western District of Texas IP bar.
Roland Nezaj
Chief Financial Officer
Roland has nearly fifteen years of experience in the fields of financial advisory, risk management, accounting, finance, and tax consulting. He led many different projects in a wide variety of industries including financial services, technology, construction, retail, manufacturing, health care, entertainment, and media. Roland developed extensive expertise in business valuations, business strategy, risk management, complex tax, auditing, financial modeling and M&A.
Afrim Mustafa
Controller
Afrim Mustafa has over a decade of experience across a wide range of industries. His expertise includes forensic investigations, accounting and compliance, electronic discovery, and business data analytics. His experience includes roles at the United States Marshals Service within the Department of Justice, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Deloitte, and UBS Wealth Management.
Ben Narlee
Director of Finance
Ben Narlee has spent fifteen years in multiple financial roles ranging from CFO to Treasurer to restructuring officer. Previously, Ben was a Senior Director at Briggs Management Partners, conducting high level restructuring and turnarounds for investors and business owner-managers. Ben is known for his financial triage work and rapidly restructuring companies.
Robert Cote
Board Member
Robert Cote is one of the world’s leading IP lawyers and investors, bringing twenty-five years of experience in identifying, valuing, and investing in the breakthrough IP assets of technology companies that built new industries in America. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. Robert founded Cote Capital with a new venture capital model called IP capital to address the challenges young technology companies face in funding the growth of their businesses. Prior to founding Cote Capital, he established and led the New York office of McKool Smith as its Managing Partner, where he was instrumental in helping the firm achieve #1 rankings in IP. He is ranked by Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) as one of the world’s top IP leaders.
Robert Shapiro
Board Member
Robert Shapiro is the co-founder and chairman of Sonecon, an economic advisory firm that has built a reputation on a range of policy issues, including economic impact of IP, climate change, and blockchain technologies, among others. Dr. Shapiro has decades of experience conducting analysis and providing advice to U.S. presidents, senators, congressional representatives, and governors, as well as foreign leaders and senior executives at numerous Fortune 50 and Fortune 100 companies. Before founding Sonecon, Dr. Shapiro was Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs during the Clinton administration and has served as an economic adviser to senior members of the Obama and Biden administrations. He has also co-authored two seminal studies with Kevin Hassett, Chairman of the Counsel of Economic Advisers in the Trump Administration, on the economic impact of IP on the United States and the global economy.