WIPO announces proposed appointments

The terms for the current seven deputy and assistant directors general will end on November 30. The director general has put forward the following for appointment:

i. Mario Matus of Chile, deputy director general - development sector;

ii. John Sandage of the US, deputy director general - patents and technology sector;

iii. Binying Wang of China, deputy director general, brands and designs sector;

iv. Anne Leer of Norway, deputy director general, culture and creative industries sector;

v. Minelik Getahun of Ethiopia, assistant director general, global issues sector;

vi. Yoshiyuki Takagi of Japan, assistant director general, global infrastructure sector;

vii. Ramanathan Ambi Sundaram of Sri Lanka, assistant director general, administration and management sector.

These proposed appointments were made out of 360 applications. Africa led the way with the most applications, with 80 (22.2% of the total), followed closely by Western Europe with 78. Nearly 70% of the applicants were men.

Motus, Sandage Leer and Getahun will be new to their roles, while Wang, Takagi and Sundaram will be returning to their current posts.

In addition, Gurry has proposed that Naresh Prasad of India be promoted to assistant director general. Prasad have been WIPO chief of staff since 2009. The director general notes that this new assistant director general role is not permanent in that it might not necessarily be refilled once Prasad’s tenure ends.