Our People
The minds behind the Institute
Our trustees and fellows bring together decades of expertise across patents, science, design, engineering and business — united by a commitment to the inventors and innovators we serve.
Dr Stephen Wong
Dr Stephen Wong has a degree in Chemistry and Chemical Technology and a PhD in Reactive Processing of Polymers and Polymer Composites. He has participated in several EPSRC and industry-funded research programmes at the universities of Bradford, Leeds and Wales, Bangor, covering a wide range of industrial polymers.
Stephen has extensive knowledge in the manufacture, development and processing of polymer systems and has published extensively on polyurethanes, polyesters, epoxies, polyamides, acrylics and polyvinyl alcohol. He is currently the Managing Director of A & S Scientific Limited, director of Ke-security Limited and the WJN Partnership LLP.
Stephen is a Trustee and Fellow of the Institute of Patentees and Inventors, providing free help and advice to start-up companies on technical issues and protecting their intellectual property.
Dr John Steele
Dr John Steele currently works in Business Development for the robotics division at the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). Since 2017 he has also been the CEO of a management consultancy business and has held several Non-Executive Chair, Non-Executive Director, Trustee and Board Advisor positions.
He holds two PhDs (the first in organic chemistry, the second in chemical engineering) and an MBA, and is the author of nine patents.
Stewart Eccles
Stewart Eccles predominantly works within the chemical and pharmaceutical fields, drafting patent applications and prosecuting them worldwide. He focuses on getting to know his clients’ needs and goals in order to provide effective advice while being mindful of cost.
He has developed close relationships with his clients and is relied upon to provide advice on all aspects of their intellectual property — including filing strategy, opposition proceedings, patent life-cycle management, license agreements, freedom to operate, and high-value due diligence.
Stewart graduated from the University of Leeds with a PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry and a First-Class master’s degree in Chemistry (Industrial). His early career focused on patents directed towards therapeutically active molecules in the new chemical entity space and within the field of pharmaceutical formulations.
As his experience grew, so did his technical interests. Stewart has acted for clients in fields including organometallic catalysts, nanotechnology, medical devices, medical diagnostic techniques, air conditioning, printable electronics, composite materials, textiles, inks and dyes — working with SMEs, large enterprises, universities, individuals and a great many start-up companies.
Jonathan Olof Lippold
Jonathan graduated as an Industrial Designer from Leeds Metropolitan University and immediately went to work for a small electronics company in Manchester designing medical products. In 1978 he gained a place at the Department of Design Research at the Royal College of Art and graduated with a master’s degree.
He went on to work as an engineer within the petrochemical industry with a special focus on safety, before joining The Design Council where, as a project officer, he helped distribute several million pounds of taxpayers’ money each year as government grants for design projects across UK industry.
In the early 1990s he became Director of a small electronics company and had some limited success with patented products, their marketing, licensing and related technology transfer. This led to his role as R&D Manager for a start-up company involved with new consumer-oriented inventions originated and designed in-house.
He became increasingly interested in the Internet’s business potential, including web design, call-centre operation, marketing and related teaching.
Jonathan aims to provide a pragmatic approach to helping fellow inventors, and works to ensure the IPI offers an ever-increasing level of sound, useful and commercially appropriate assistance to every member of the Institute.
Get Involved
Become an expert. Or join as a member.
Whether you’d like to lend your expertise to the Institute or draw on the knowledge of others, there’s a place for you here.