Mr. Dickheiser is an experienced transactional intellectual property attorney and business development manager. He has a BA in Biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from Fordham University, and is admitted to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office as well as in New York and Connecticut. Mr. Dickheiser drafted and successfully prosecuted more than 100 US Patents and negotiated several licensing transactions at Union Carbide Corporation, Uniroyal, Inc. and ICI Americas/Zeneca before becoming Manager of Legal Affairs and Intellectual Property for Zeneca Plant Science in 1993. In this role he was responsible for the negotiating and drafting of collaboration/venture agreements with universities, major international companies, germplasm providers and other members of the commercialization chain; ensuring freedom to operate; coordinating patent strategy; managing legal and intellectual property aspects of merger and acquisition activity; and counseling senior management on intellectual property matters in general. In 2000, Mr. Dickheiser became Global Head of Ventures for Syngenta, with responsibility for the negotiation of new ventures as well as for the operation of existing ventures.

Mr. Dickheiser has extensive experience in setting up and running ventures from both a business and a legal/intellectual property perspective. His unique experience as a patent attorney as well as a business development manager allows him to provide practical and commercial insight to intellectual property matters, particularly in the agrochemical and biotechnology arenas.