IP Leadership in Business from Qualcomm to AI: with George Pappas on Growing a Global Career

It was such a joy to reconnect with George, one of my earliest mentors since my time at Volvo Cars in Sweden. This conversation ended up being part career retrospective (spoiler: he shares about his time in the early days of the Qualcomm patent department and briefs the uninitiated on SEPs), part masterclass in how to build a life across countries and industries. George has spent his career at the intersection of law, technology, and international business. As a New Yorker deeply connected with his Greek roots, he learned to navigate many different corporate cultures and geographies while maintaining his true essence. I’ve learned so much about business, the law, and how to thrive through challenging environments from George, and I am so extremely grateful to share a glimpse into the mind of this brilliant and generous attorney and businessman through our conversation. We talked about life at Volvo, the evolution of a patent career, AI, SEP licensing, and what it takes to stay valuable no matter how much the ground moves under you. KEY THEMES AND TAKEAWAYS How Volvo Car’s shift from mechanical company to a mobility company created a wave of change in the IP space. Industry lessons and how they tend to repeat themselves Why IP legal needs to be considered a revenue generator instead of a cost center, and how hard that message actually is to land Where AI is headed in patent law, and why the strategist behind the tool still matters more than the tool itself A plain language breakdown of standard essential patents versus non-essential patents, and why you need both Career advice for IP professionals at any stage OUR FAVORITE QUOTES “The attorney is changing from drafting the application to being the IP strategist” On finding mentors and building a network at early stages: “Most people want to talk about themselves. They want to share their knowledge, both their personal and their professional” “You have to modulate your words and your actions,…