Team

Kevin is a founder and partner of Sherpa Technology Group and is based out of the firm’s San Francisco office. Prior to Sherpa Technology Group, he was the Vice President of IP Strategy for IBM, and was a Senior Advisor to The Boston Consulting Group on IP strategy. He is the former Chairman of the USPTO oversight committee and a former member of the Board of Directors at Tessera Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSRA). Kevin is the author of Rembrandts in the Attic, a widely read and foundational work on Patent Strategy, and the founder and CEO of Aurigen Systems, an IP analytics firm. In 2008, Kevin was named to the IP Hall of Fame by Intellectual Asset Management, in 2009 was named one of “The World’s Leading IP Strategists”, and in 2014 was named to the National Law Journal’s inaugural list of IP “Trailblazers and Pioneers”. He is a registered patent attorney.

Ralph is a founding partner of Sherpa Technology Group and is based in the firm’s Boston office. He has extensive experience in Intellectual Property strategy, especially in a broad range of technology-related industries. Mr. Eckardt has over 20 years of professional services experience. Prior to Sherpa Technology Group, he led BCG’s IP Strategy consulting practice, managing client assignments in technology, industrial, and consumer industries. Ralph is a co-author of the IP strategy book The Invisible Edge and has been named one of “The World’s Leading IP Strategists” by IAM Magazine. He is also a member of the Board of INTIPSA, the International IP Strategists Association. Ralph is a graduate of Messiah College and holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Peter Detkin joined Sherpa Technology Group in 2017. He is a founder of Intellectual Ventures, a multi-billion dollar fund that invests in invention and once held over 40,000 patents. He remains involved with the company. Intellectual Asset Management magazine recently named Mr. Detkin the second most influential “IP market maker” in the world. Prior to joining Intellectual Ventures, Mr. Detkin spent 8 years at Intel Corporation where he was a vice president and assistant general counsel. As assistant general counsel, Mr. Detkin was responsible for managing the Intel patent and licensing departments, including all aspects of prosecution and claims management. Mr. Detkin also managed the litigation and competition policy departments (including antitrust). Before he joined Intel, Mr. Detkin was an intellectual property partner at the law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati in Palo Alto, California. Mr. Detkin was the first patent lawyer hired at this firm and formed the basis of its highly-successful intellectual property practice. Mr. Detkin received his B.S.E.E. with honors in 1982 from the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering and a J.D. in 1985 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He serves as a member of the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Brady Campaign and Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Mr. Detkin is an inactive member of the State Bars of California and New York, and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Andrew Filler has over twenty years of expertise managing complex intellectual property and general legal matters across an array of technology and medical companies. He is the former general counsel and vice president of intellectual property at Nanosys, Inc., a leading nanotechnology company where he created and managed one of the largest nanotechnology patent portfolios in the world with over 800 patents and applications. Under his leadership Nanosys also inked hundreds of complex licensing and collaborative agreements with multinational companies including Samsung, 3M, LG, Sharp, and Medtronic. Filler was named as one of the top two corporate IP attorneys in Silicon Valley by the San Jose/Silicon Valley Business Journal in 2011 and previously served as chief intellectual property counsel at Caliper Technologies, senior associate attorney at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and director of intellectual property at Corvascular. In 2018 he was named part of the IAM Strategy 300.  Filler graduated with distinction with a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and holds a J.D. magna cum laude from University of San Francisco Law School.

Michael is a Partner in Sherpa Technology Group’s San Francisco office and has extensive technology / IP strategy, due diligence, and transaction experience. He has been listed as one of the “World’s Leading IP Strategists” by Intellectual Asset Management (IAM). Previously, Michael was a VP at XLP Capital, a tech-focused investment and strategy advisory firm. Earlier in his career, Michael worked at Hoffman Alvary, an IP consultancy where he developed financial and economic models related to intellectual property infringement, licensing, and valuation. Michael has co-authored multiple articles on IP strategy, including a cover piece published by IAM. Michael graduated with a double major from Dartmouth College, where he co-captained the Men’s Varsity Track and Field team.

Colin joined Sherpa Technology Group in 2013 as an Analyst in the Boston office. Previously, he worked as a consultant at Endeavour Partners, a boutique consulting firm specializing in telecoms and the mobile ecosystem, and as an engineer at tool, inc., a product design firm. Colin graduated from Harvard University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. He was a four-year skipper on the Harvard Sailing Team, as well as co-chair of Leverett House.

Viraj joined Sherpa Technology Group in 2020 as an Analyst in the Silicon Valley office. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.S.E. in Operations Research and Financial Engineering along with a minor in Computer Science. Previously, he interned at two startups based in New York City and in Tel Aviv, respectively. At Princeton, Viraj competed for the varsity cross country and track and field teams and was a member of Sigma Xi for his senior thesis titled “Win Probability Modelling in the National Basketball Association.”

Matthew joined Sherpa Technology Group in 2023 as an Associate in the San Francisco office. He graduated from Santa Clara University with a BS in Electrical Engineering. Previously, Matthew worked as a Patent Agent at Haley Guiliano LLP, an intellectual property law firm, where he drafted patent applications and prosecuted dockets for clients in various fields including electric vehicles, inertial sensors, and media guidance applications. In college, for his senior design project, he developed a synthetic skin prototype that mimicked the electrical properties of human skin to enable bio-wearable device testing.

Brendan joined Sherpa Technology Group in 2022 as an Analyst in the Boston office. He graduated from Boston College with a BS in Management and concentrations in Finance and Information Systems, as well as a minor in History. Previously, he interned at an enterprise software solution and a mobile application startup, both in the Greater Boston area. At Boston College, Brendan was a member of the of the varsity football team for four years and a representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Cooper joined Sherpa Technology Group in 2023 as an Analyst in the Silicon Valley office. He graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Biology with a concentration in Computational Biology. Prior to joining Sherpa he invested in deep tech startups as an analyst at an applied sciences and industrial venture fund in Cambridge. At Stanford he performed proteomics research and played intramural sports.

Frank joined Sherpa Technology Group in 2023 as an Analyst in the Boston office. Prior to joining the team, he served as a seasonal Analyst at AGC Partners, a middle market technology investment bank advising on enterprise software M&A transactions. Frank initially attended University of California San Diego majoring in Mechanical Engineering, though he later transferred to and graduated from University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Economics.