Staff
David Hirschmann
President and CEO
As president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC) Hirschmann leads the Chamber’s initiative dedicated to making U.S. capital markets the most fair, efficient, transparent, and attractive in the world. This effort addresses domestic and international securities regulation and enforcement and financial reporting issues, including auditor viability, and proxy rules.
Hirschmann also serves as president and CEO of the Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC). The GIPC works to champion intellectual property (IP) as a vital engine of global development, growth, and human progress. He oversees the Center’s work in communicating the value of IP, building support for IP protection in the United States, growing alliances to promote IP in international markets, and improving enforcement.
As senior vice president at the U.S.
Mark Elliot
Executive Vice President
Mark Elliot is executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC). In this capacity, Elliot provides strategic leadership to GIPC’s comprehensive initiative to protect the intellectual property rights that are vital to creating jobs, growing the economy, and enhancing U.S. competitiveness.
Elliot joins GIPC after nine years at Pfizer Inc., where he most recently developed and implemented public affairs strategies across the developed world as senior director for International Public Affairs. Before moving to New York in 2009, Elliot, a native Australian, served on the Pfizer Australia and New Zealand leadership team and led the public affairs team. In this position, Elliot contributed to Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme Reform negotiations and implementation, Australia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement negotiations, and various other national initiatives that impacted Australia’s pharmaceutical industry.
Gina Vetere
Executive Director, International Intellectual Property
As executive director for International Intellectual Property (IP) at the U.S. Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC), Gina Vetere oversees the center’s multilateral and international programs promoting the protection of IP rights. Vetere also guides GIPC’s efforts in raising awareness of and support for the value of IP as vital to job creation, global development, and economic progress domestically and abroad.
Before joining the U.S. Chamber in January 2010, Vetere served as director for Intellectual Property and Innovation at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). In this capacity, she worked to ensure the implementation of U.S. trade policies to promote the adequate and effective protection and enforcement of IP rights overseas and improved market access for U.S. innovative industries.
Steve Tepp
Chief Intellectual Property Counsel
Steve Tepp is the chief intellectual property counsel for the Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Tepp, who joined the Chamber in July 2010, provides expert legal counsel across the GIPC at the strategic and operational levels. He is also is responsible for leading the GIPC’s efforts, long term and short term, foreign and domestic, to reduce trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy, especially in the digital and online environments.
Previously, Tepp served as senior counsel for Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Copyright Office, where he negotiated numerous free trade agreements and, most recently, played a major role in drafting and negotiating the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. Tepp had principal responsibility for all copyright matters in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions and litigated the U.S.-China IPR dispute before the World Trade Organization.
Rob Calia
Senior Director, Stakeholder Advocacy
Rob Calia is senior director of stakeholder advocacy for the Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Calia joined the Chamber in 2006 to advance the fight against intellectual property (IP) theft.
In this capacity, Calia develops and helps implement a comprehensive federal affairs and political grassroots program. His efforts led to the passage of the PRO-IP Act in 2008, one of the most substantial pieces of IP enforcement legislation in recent memory. He works closely with the federal enforcement agencies tasked with IP enforcement, including the office of the IP Enforcement Coordinator, the Department of Justice, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection.
Trinh Nguyen
Director, Communications and Marketing
Trinh Nguyen is the director of Communications and Marketing at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC). She leads the GIPC Communications team in developing and overseeing the execution of its comprehensive communication campaigns. Nguyen also manages all multimedia operations, including media relations, social media programs, and marketing initiatives.
Since joining the Chamber in September 2009, Nguyen has played an instrumental role in revamping the GIPC website, leading GIPC’s efforts in utilizing new media, and raising GIPC’s public profile as the go-to place for all IP-related matters through earned media.
Previously, Nguyen served in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), working closely with regional and functional policy offices within USTR and policy officials in related federal agencies to develop public messaging of U.S. trade policies.
Andrew Kovalcin
Director, Stakeholder Advocacy
Andrew Kovalcin is the director of stakeholder advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC). He brings a diverse set of skills and experience from his work in managing coalitions, building strategic alliances, and designing and implementing issue advocacy campaigns. Kovalcin leads and manages one of GIPC’s top initiatives, which is to build national and state strategic alliances. His work includes identifying new and creative approaches to delivering intellectual property (IP) messages to various audiences around the country and ensuring that these messages echo back to Capitol Hill and the Administration.
Aaron Smethurst
Director, International Intellectual Property (Multilateral)
Aaron Smethurst is the director of international intellectual property (multilateral) at the U.S. Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC). He advocates for the rights of innovators and creators internationally and works to bring their stories to negotiators in multilateral fora.
Before joining the Chamber, Smethurst managed agricultural chemicals and plant biotechnology intellectual property issues at CropLife International for four years.
Jasper MacSlarrow
Jasper MacSlarrow, Director International Intellectual Property (China and Special Projects)
Jasper MacSlarrow is director of International Programs focusing on China and special projects for the Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) at the U.S. Chamber. MacSlarrow concentrates on strengthening the enforcement of and future foundation for intellectual property rights in China, with an emphasis on online counterfeiting and piracy, regulatory data protection (RDP), software legalization, patent linkage, enterprise piracy, and enforcement.
MacSlarrow formerly served as legislative director for Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) and staff co-director of the congressional U.S.-China Working Group (USCWG) where he organized and led delegations to China.
Miti Sathe
Director International Intellectual Property (India and Special Projects)
Miti Sathe is director of international intellectual property for India and special projects at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC). She works on the protection and enforcement of IP rights in India and internationally through building advocacy coalitions and interfacing with foreign decision makers and lawmakers. To this job she brings more than a decade of political experience designing and managing complex marketing and advocacy campaigns.
Before joining the Chamber in 2011, Sathe served as associate director for the Office of Public Engagement at the White House. In this capacity, she handled outreach strategy and communications to third-party groups, nonprofits, surrogates, academics, and foundations. She worked on many of the president’s and first lady’s major initiatives, including the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, the Military Family Initiative, and the Job Creation Act.