On the back of a turbocharged 2025, writes Mattia Fogliacco, Sisvel hit the ground running at the start of 2026 with the hire of Heath Hoglund as the company’s first Chief IP Officer. This has positioned the business for accelerated success

Last year was an extraordinary one for Sisvel. The breadth of the work we did and the successes we enjoyed have already been detailed in our 2025 review and I am incredibly proud of it all. No one can dispute that Sisvel – born in Italy in 1982 – is now an established leader in the global patent business. We have multiple offices located on three continents and a growing team of world-class operators, all committed to finding transparent, efficient, cost-effective licensing solutions to the challenges posed by the complex technology markets of the 21^st century.

However, time does not stand still. While we have already achieved a great deal, there remains much more to do. That’s why I am so pleased we began 2026 with the announcement that Heath Hoglund has become Sisvel’s first-ever Chief IP Officer.

Outstanding expertise

Heath is one of the IP world’s best-known figures. He had an extraordinary impact during his time as President of Via Licensing and, before that, as Vice-President of IP and Standards at Dolby. Over many years, he chalked up a remarkable track record in building and running industry-leading licensing programmes in multiple technology areas, based on standard essential patents and patent pools. It is not for nothing that Heath was named the world’s top IP dealmaker by IAM in 2023 and is a permanent fixture in that platform’s annual Strategy 300 listing. We are honoured that he has chosen to join us. More than that, though, it is incredibly exciting.

Heath’s arrival will enable Sisvel to take things to the next level. Among other duties as CIPO, he will assume overall responsibility for our patent pools worldwide. In this role, he brings an unparalleled level of experience and expertise in constructing and scaling licensing programmes that deliver exceptional value to both technology developers and implementers. Crucially, Heath will sit at the top of a leadership structure that also includes our Head of Licensing, Nick Webb, and Head of Programmes, David Muus. They and their teams have been instrumental to Sisvel’s success over the last few years: we could not have achieved what we have without them; and they are integral to our continued growth.

We now have the opportunity not only to maintain the positive trajectory of our current suite of programmes but also to reach even greater heights by creating new ones. We will be able to serve our partners even better, both in how we structure ourselves and in how we bring programmes to market. This is all fundamental to Sisvel’s future because pools constitute the foundation on which we build.

New horizons

But there is even more to it than that. With Heath as CIPO, I am no longer required to provide operational oversight of our pools programme. That frees me up as CEO to focus on other areas.

For example, I intend to work with stakeholders to devise new forms of intermediation that avoid licensor–licensee conflicts. Furthermore, I want to create models that can help to remove what I call the “fiction of friction” from the market. The vast majority of licensing deals get done amicably and in good time. However, too many companies – SMEs in particular – have been convinced of the opposite. It’s time to put that misconception right, not only with words but with actions too. We have already begun this work in the IoT sphere by signing up to the WIPO IoT SEP Mediation Pledge and by launching a fund that will help SMEs taking a licence from the Sisvel IoT pool to meet their initial royalty payments. But that should only be the start.

More generally, I will now have much more time to explore how to leverage our deal-making expertise and technical experience in new fields. I cannot wait to get started.

Change to lead

The scale and complexity of today’s global technology markets demand new levels of leadership and expertise to best serve our partners and the wider licensing ecosystem. Heath’s arrival has allowed us to restructure the business to ensure we are able to do just that. We are now ideally placed to offer deeper specialisation, faster decision-making and an even greater focus on innovation and operational excellence.

Sisvel’s culture of collaboration, ingenuity and efficiency remains at the heart of our mission to bridge the needs of patent owners and technology implementers. The market is changing rapidly and we are positioning ourselves to lead by embracing new technologies, new business models and new opportunities.

Looking back over the almost 10 years since I was appointed as Sisvel CEO, I am very proud of what the team has achieved. My passion for this business has never been stronger and my commitment to our licensors, licensees and other partners only grows as I contemplate the next decade. Heath joining us speaks volumes for our prospects and enables me to bring even more energy and focus to futureproofing the company. Together, the whole Sisvel team will champion the kinds of creative, flexible, transparent licensing solutions that define us.

Welcome to Sisvel’s future. It is a truly exciting one.

Mattia Fogliacco is President and CEO of Sisvel International