Ian McClure is the Associate Vice President for Research (AVPR), Innovation and Economic Impact and Executive Director, UK Innovate at the University of Kentucky (UK). He leads efforts to translate UK discoveries for the public good, seek equitable returns on UK intellectual property, develop innovative approaches to develop, fund and support opportunities for near-stage research, enhance UK’s investments in innovation, catalyze a culture and capacity for entrepreneurship, and expand industry and other collaborative research partnerships with UK Research and in Kentucky more broadly.
Ian’s portfolio includes oversight of the UK Office of Technology Commercialization (UK OTC), UK Innovation Connect for industry partnerships, UK Innovation Economic Development, and UK’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training. As UK OTC’s previous Executive Director, he oversaw a team of 25+ staff managing the University’s innovation, intellectual property and startup portfolios. Ian is also the Chair-Elect of the Board of Directors for AUTM, the world’s leading association for technology transfer professionals, an advisory board member for the Oak Ridge Institute, the chair of IPwe’s Advisory Committee for University Technology Transfer, Launch Blue Advisory Board member, and is the past chair of OVALS. He is also a co-founder of Kentucky Commercialization Ventures (KCV), a state-funded and KSTC-managed program to provide IP and tech transfer services to all other universities in the state that do not currently have dedicated IP and tech transfer resources. As an innovator, Ian is a PI or Co-I on three federal grants (NIH and EDA) focused on tech-based economic development.
Ian began his career as a Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and Intellectual Property (IP) transactions attorney at Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, L.L.P. in Louisville. Following private practice, he helped build a startup company in Chicago, IPXI, the world’s first financial exchange for IP and technology rights. He led through product development, capital raise, proof of concept, and growth to 30+ full-time employees and three offices. Ian was Vice President of IP Strategy for Black Stone IP (acquired by Houlihan Lokey), a boutique investment bank headquartered in San Francisco focused on IP-rich M&A and technology-driven transactions. In parallel, he teaches graduate courses on the Law & Business of IP Management at Chicago-Kent College of Law and the University of Kentucky College of Law. Ian has been named one of the World’s Leading IP Strategists by IAM Magazine every year since 2012.
Ian has published extensively in law and business journals related to the intersection of IP, business process, and corporate governance, including with top IP & Technology law reviews such as UC Berkeley, Fordham University, and Santa Clara University. In addition, he has presented to numerous symposiums and conferences on IP licensing, valuation, risk, and strategy. Ian graduated cum laude with a degree in economics from Vanderbilt University, magna cum laude with a Juris Doctorate from Chapman University School of Law, and a Master of Laws in Intellectual Property Law (LLM) from DePaul University College of Law.
UK Innovate
Associate Vice President for Research Innovation and Economic Impact