New CITMA President elected

Kelly Saliger has been elected as President of The Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA) and will make education one of her top priorities.

Saliger, who is a dual-qualified Chartered Trade Mark Attorney and Solicitor, began her two-year term in the role on 16 April 2024. She was voted in by CITMA’s Council and succeeds Rachel Wilkinson-Duffy.

Saliger is a Partner within the intellectual property department of the London office of international law firm CMS. She became a partner in 2023 and has been with the firm since 2008.

Saliger will bring her passion for education, which she has honed over some four years as Chair of CITMA’s Education, Quality, and Standards Committee, to her two years as CITMA President. 

Following her election, Saliger said: “It is a privilege to be elected to this position and succeed Rachel as the 43rd CITMA President. I’m grateful for the ongoing support of friends, colleagues, and peers as I take on this new role.

“I am passionate about education, and supporting everyone in our profession to succeed will be a key priority over the next two years.

“It is vital that newly qualified Chartered Trade Mark Attorneys enter the profession with a skill set that is fit for purpose. Continuing our work with IPReg and the university course providers will help to ensure that highly skilled individuals continue to enter the profession, and I want us to do all we can to work together to ensure that the needs of a post-COVID, post-Brexit profession are met. With more contentious proceedings than ever before at the UK IPO, we want our members to be equipped with the training and confidence to facilitate this.

“Training doesn’t stop at qualification, and I want to ensure that we are continuing to offer our members outstanding opportunities to develop throughout their career while helping them to stay on top of the law and practice required to complete the ‘day job.’

“Internationally, CITMA members are respected and well-known members of the international trademark community, and the benefits attached to using UK-qualified and regulated professionals are self-evident and worthy of further and constant promotion.

“I am really keen to do more to promote wellbeing – and aim to lead by example. I want to ensure that the professionals are mentally and physically robust and able to disconnect from work and live their lives outside of the office taking time for whatever works for them – sport, self-care, or meditation.

“I’d also like to thank my predecessor, Rachel Wilkinson-Duffy, for all her hard work and support as President – I hope to continue building on her many achievements and those of her predecessors.”

Saliger joined CITMA as a Student member in 2010 before qualifying in 2013. Last year Saliger was elected by the Council as a Fellow of CITMA, an honor that recognizes outstanding contributions to CITMA and the profession.

Prior to being elected as CITMA President, Saliger served for two years each as Second Vice-President/Treasurer, and most recently, as First Vice-President. Saliger has also been Chair of the CITMA Education, Quality, and Standards Committee since 2020, previously chairing the Events Committee.

The President has responsibility for the policy and direction of CITMA and its liaison with UK government officials and international organizations.

In addition to Saliger’s election, Dan Hardman-Smart (Stobbs) has been elected as CITMA’s First Vice-President and Ese Akpogheneta (BATMark) as Second Vice-President/Treasurer. They will also serve for two years alongside Saliger.

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