Acacia Research has appointed Matthew Vella, Acacia’s president, as chief executive officer and a director effective August 1 2013.
Vella, who will continue to serve as president of Acacia, is taking over from Paul Ryan, Acacia’s present chief executive officer and a director. Ryan is retiring and will resign effective July 31 2013.
Vella joined Acacia in November 2006 as vice president. He was appointed senior vice president in October 2007, executive vice president in October 2011 and president in September 2012. Prior to joining Acacia, he was senior intellectual property counsel for ATI Research and lead patent license counsel for Nortel Networks.
