Leadership
THE PERCEPTION PARTNERS MANAGEMENT TEAM is comprised of functional team leaders that provide seasoned expertise across business, technology and legal subject matter areas.
Barry Brager
Barry Brager is the Founder and Managing Partner of Perception Partners®. He brings a unique combination of expertise in analytics and marketing to the firm's diverse teams, tools and techniques. In his role, Barry helps clients fully leverage innovation and intellectual property with technology investment, business development and transactional Solution Suites that have supported decisions related to more than $1 billion in financial transactions.
Barry is also the Chief Executive Officer of Starpound Corporation. Starpound is an IP management company that licenses technology to turn mobile phones into remote control devices. Barry holds two patents and others pending related to these endeavors.
Barry is recognized as a leader in the IP industry. In 2009, Barry was named one of the world's Leading IP Strategists in the global IAM250, published by IAM Magazine. In 2008, he completed his second term as Small Business Committee Chair of the Intellectual Property Owners Association based in Washington D.C. He also co-chaired the Licensing Executives Society USA-Canada Annual Meeting in 2008. Further, he was a recent member of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Patent Information Users Group. Barry is a frequent speaker on IP strategy, valuation and the links between patent intelligence and competitive advantage.
Barry is also a skilled trainer, having taught hundreds of students software and business skills in corporate and academic environments. In addition, he is an award-wining graphic designer.
Barry graduated with a B.F.A. from Temple University, and subsequently completed Emory University’s top 10 globally-ranked Executive MBA program, graduating Beta Gamma Sigma and first in his class.
Jeff is Senior Operations Partner and directs all operational aspects of Perception Partners’ business to ensure that our products and services consistently provide expected value to our customers. For the past 20 years he was at the BOC Group, a $6 billion global industrial gases company, where he most recently was Director of External Technology Sourcing and Competitive Intelligence. In previous positions at BOC, he has led a range of research and information systems groups, and managed the global technology development portfolio and innovation program on behalf of BOC’s executive leadership team. Prior, Jeff was a senior engineer at the International Nickel (INCO) Sterling Forest R&D lab.
Jeff brings a unique blend of technical expertise in applied physical sciences and engineering together with extensive experience in team leadership, project management, organizational process improvement, and implementation of knowledge management tools supporting effective collaboration. His global perspective on technology issues is derived primarily from his time working abroad, including one year at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, four years developing and leading BOC’s semiconductor research laboratory in Osaka, Japan, and more recently building and directing a competitive technology intelligence team in Chennai, India.
Jeff received his Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University in Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering. He also holds a Masters degree in Management with a concentration in e-Commerce from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is an active member of the Industrial Research Institute, the American Society of Materials, and the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals. Jeff holds five patents related to materials processing, and is the author of over 30 publications in the areas of materials science and technology management.
Ed is a Consulting Counsel with Perception Partners, where he provides IP srategy advice and analyzes transactional oportunities and litigation risks to maximize competitive advantage. He is the former Chief Intellectual Property Counsel of The Coca-Cola Company. During his tenure at the Coca-Cola Company, Ed directed a number of initiatives to ensure that the Company maximized the value intrinsic in its intellectual property. He instituted a process to review the existing patent and trademark portfolios to assess whether the value of the intellectual property was worth the maintenance cost. He was instrumental in leading the Company to approve a technology licensing program and assert its patents against competitors. He adopted a project management approach that enabled the Company to address its intellectual property litigation strategy. Currently, Ed is also Of Counsel at Woodcock Washburn.
During his 25 years as an intellectual property lawyer, Ed has handled issues in many technical areas, including fiber optics, lasers, plastic and metal packaging, electro-mechanical equipment, and chemical processes.
Ed began working with Perception Partners after his early retirement from The Coca-Cola Company to help companies develop and focus their intellectual property strategies to protect innovations that lead to competitive advantage.
Ed has a law degree and a B. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Miami. He also has a M. Sc. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.
Frank is a Consulting Partner with Perception Partners and is a recognized subject matter expert in creating new data technologies. He helps clients by applying his technical expertise in order to help companies determine the risks and opportunities in IP investments or litigation. He has spent his career developing many leading-edge products in computing and data communications. Some of his contributions include technology developments used in the original IBM desktop computers, fast packet data switches, wireless LANs, cable modems, fiber systems, and ADSL products.
In support of his product development contributions, Frank has 46 domestic and international patents. He has also served numerous times as an expert witness in court proceedings related to patent infringement.
Because of his technology expertise, success in bringing products to market, and work with multiple standards committees, Frank is able to provide unique insight to stakeholders in the data, telecommunications and broadband industries. Frank is also able to evaluate the main factors in determining if a product is going to succeed, including ensuring that the product meets the needs of the end-user, that it is introduced in the right market window, and that it has unique advantages over competitors.
Frank received his Masters in Computer Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and Physics and Chemistry Degrees from State University of New York at Plattsburgh. He has previously worked for International Business Machines Inc., Scientific-Atlanta, BellSouth and Hayes Corporation.
William (Bill) Black, CPA, CVA, ABV
Bill Black is a Consulting Partner with Perception Partners. He is a consummate financial professional that brings clients extensive experience in business valuation, litigation consulting, IP valuation, forensic accounting and records reconstruction, fraud investigation, and management strategy and risk assessment. His experience in intellectual property and intangible asset valuation ranges from patent and trade secret valuation to franchise rights valuation to valuing contingent fee cases in a law firm dissolution.
Bill has been appointed by courts to provide a neutral financial perspective and to assist the trier of fact in understanding complex business issues. He has been assigned to provide a neutral business valuation in the dissolution of a regional distribution concern, and appointed to serve as an auditor and business valuation expert in winding up the affairs of a personal-injury law firm. Black has advised bankruptcy trustees on solvency and accounting issues. His professional certifications include: Certified Public Accountant (CPA); Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV); Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA); Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).
Prior to establishing his independent consulting practice, Black directed and managed litigation consulting engagements for Deloitte & Touche and Pricewaterhouse Coopers. He has served as financial information systems consulting manager for Deloitte Haskins & Sells, and has directed financial planning and analysis for a $500 million group of the Penn Central Corporation. Black worked on the research and technical staff of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, where he assisted in the development and issuance of major components in the conceptual framework for financial accounting and reporting, including Qualitative Characteristics of Accounting Information, Elements of Financial Statements, and Measurement.
Michael is a Consulting Partner with Perception Partners and provides intellectual property strategy, commercialization, licensing, and valuation services to firm clients, as he has for more than 14 years in the US, Europe and Asia. He has assessed IP portfolios and executed transactions regarding new products and geographies, new company formations, alliances, joint ventures, sales, and licenses.
Michael is also the founder and Principal of Intellectual Asset Commercialization, Inc. (IAComm), a growth strategy, business development and IP management services firm. IAComm has strategically partnered with Perception Partners to provide more comprehensive solutions to our clients. Prior to founding IAComm, Michael was a professional in Big 4 accounting and consulting firms for nearly 11 years. He initially worked in the valuation practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Michael later co-founded The Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) consulting practice at PwC. He was also a Senior Manager in the IAM and Technology Commercialization practice at Deloitte & Touche.
Michael is a frequent course developer and instructor of educational programs for the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Licensing Executives Society and Biotechnology Industry Organization. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting and a Master of Business Administration concentrated in finance. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.