Russ Binns, AST CEO, named to 2019 IAM Magazine Top 40 Market Makers list of “The World’s Elite IP Deal Makers” for 4th consecutive year

Star turns – counting down the best of the best
By Richard Lloyd and Jacob Schindler
In six years of compiling our top 40 Market Makers, we have observed the ups and downs of the patent market. Several giants of the NPE space have vanished; financiers who in 2014 were still eyeing the sector after the Rockstar auction have bowed out; and there has been an influx of senior figures from Asia as the IP world’s centre of gravity shifts east.

When IAM set about putting together the first 40, our intention was to rank the people who we thought were the most influential in IP value creation. This remains our aim and with daily reporting on the biggest stories across the United States, Europe and Asia, no other team of journalists is as well placed to assess who is setting the pace. As the names and faces in the top 40 have changed, we have continued to chart the ebbs and flows of a sector that has transformed significantly in the past five years.

This year’s final 40 reflects a broad definition of ‘IP value creation’. It includes executives from operating companies that make hundreds of millions from licensing, businesses that view their portfolios primarily for defensive purposes, the small group of NPEs that continue to thrive and even a select few from the advisory side.

We have included short write-ups for everyone who has made the list – with more detailed profiles for those in the top 10 – and more in-depth analysis on some of the themes that have shaped this year’s 40. As ever, we expect and hope that our ranking will prompt plenty of discussion, debate and disagreement; we welcome your feedback on this year’s membership of one of the IP world’s most exclusive clubs.

25   Russell Binns   Allied Security Trust
As CEO of defensive patent operator Allied Security Trust (AST), Russell Binns is at the heart of the secondary transactions market. In particular, AST’s stewardship of the IP3 buying platform, along with its usual patent deal-making activity, gives him an excellent view of the landscape.

The complete IAM Magazine article may be found here.