Profile: Richard Heath, Unilever
17 May 2009
James Nurton, Seattle
Richard Heath took over as INTA President in January this year. Soon after, he took part in an online interview with INTA Daily News editor James Nurton. In these extracts from the interview, he discusses ACTA, reveals his priorities for the Presidency and explains why he loves working in trademarks
What does your job at Unilever involve?As many people know, I headed up the trademark group for roughly 10 years and moved into my current role in 2005. Today I’m responsible for coordinating a multi-function steering group, which includes the legal; customer development; supply chain management; research and development; communications and public affairs; and safety and environmental groups. There are relatively few business issues that involve quite so many functions. We’ve got six functions, which is remarkable, but it doesn’t take up 100% of everybody’s time in those roles. But the responsibilities are clear for everyone in those groups. Coordination is critical and it links the legal group to the rest of the business. What is your background?My original background is technical. I’d seen IP working from the other side, being a named inventor and being involved in trademarks. I crossed the divide and I thought trademarks was the most...
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