Team

Derek de Laat is the founder and President of FIN IP Group and one of the most recognized financial experts in the intellectual property industry. He helps licensing entities, operating companies, investors, and law firms maximize the return from their intellectual property investments.

Derek’s methodologies, developed over decades in the industry, underpin FIN IP Group’s work and have helped clients unlock value through transactions, financing, licensing programs, and enforcement campaigns worldwide. Derek drives the firm’s strategic direction and the development of new products and methodologies, while leading its most complex engagements. Under his leadership, FIN IP Group has supported more than $10 billion in patent transactions, helped raise over $1 billion in portfolio and litigation financing, and completed more than 500 licensing, enforcement, and valuation engagements. He has also personally developed hundreds of patent acquisition models and program royalty rates across wireless, video, software, and other technology markets.

Derek frequently serves as an expert on industry advisory panels and has pioneered numerous innovative methodologies in IP finance. He contributes to IP education through teaching engagements at local universities and non-profit programs focused on helping organizations enhance and realize the value of their IP. His industry service also includes founding the Ottawa Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society (LES) and serving as Co-Chair from 2024 to 2026.

Derek has more than 20 years of experience in patent licensing and finance. Before founding FIN IP Group, he was Vice President of IP Investments and Valuation at WiLAN and held patent licensing and monetization roles at BlackBerry and Rockstar Consortium. He has been named to the IAM Strategy 300 every year since 2019 and to the IAM Global Leaders every year since 2023, with IAM describing him as “unparalleled in the realm of financial modelling.”

Julian Cupillari is a Senior Director at FIN IP Group, where he leads the firm’s patent valuation and financial modeling engagements and supports the firm’s strategy. Julian helps technology companies, patent licensing entities, law firms, investors, and inventors realize the full economic value of their intellectual property.

Drawing on more than a decade of valuation and financial modeling experience, Julian is known for his straightforward approach to complex intellectual property issues. By focusing on the underlying economics and clearly communicating conclusions, he helps clients make informed decisions involving their most valuable IP assets. He oversees the strategy and delivery of client projects across FIN IP Group’s practice and leads its team of financial analysts. His mandate spans formal patent appraisals, IP business cases, and economic analyses supporting licensing negotiations, litigation, settlement, audits, tax assessments, transactions, and board-level evaluations. Julian has led the successful delivery of hundreds of FIN IP Group’s projects, helping countless clients achieve their strategic and monetization objectives.

Julian is actively involved in advancing the intellectual property valuation profession through industry involvement, education, and thought leadership. He contributes to exam content for the Certified Licensing Professional (CLP) accreditation and serves on the board of the Canadian Chapter of the American Society of Appraisers.

Prior to joining FIN IP Group, Julian led the business development team at the Financial Modeling Institute and worked as a financial modeler on the US$3 billion acquisition of FRHI Hotels & Resorts by AccorHotels. He has been named to the IAM Strategy 300 each year since 2024.

Allisha Lin is a Manager at FIN IP Group, where she leads royalty rate pricing analysis and development for patent owners, licensing entities, law firms, patent pools, and other organizations. She oversees the development of critical royalty rates and pricing analyses that underpin negotiations, enforcement campaigns, patent pools, and IP valuations.

Allisha manages most of FIN IP Group’s pricing projects from scoping through final delivery, working directly with clients on licensing strategy and pricing decisions while directing analyst teams. Her work includes unpacking license agreements to derive effective royalty rates, comparable royalty rate analysis, SEP pricing strategy, and program rate development for portfolios spanning dozens of industries. Allisha was instrumental in developing the firm’s proprietary database of more than 1,000 litigation-derived royalty rates, as well as its proprietary methodology for identifying and evaluating relevant comparables for patent portfolios. Her analyses are built to be clear and able to withstand scrutiny in negotiations, mediations, and litigation.

In 2026, Allisha was named to the IAM Strategy 300 as one of the world’s leading IP strategists. She joined FIN IP Group with a background in data analysis and analytical modeling from Employment and Social Development Canada.

Andrew Kugler is a Manager at FIN IP Group, where he leads software development, AI integration, and new product initiatives. He is responsible for the software, cloud data infrastructure, and AI-enabled tools behind the firm’s royalty rate, valuation, and transaction analysis. His work helps corporations, patent licensing entities, and law firms make well-supported decisions on licensing, valuation, and patent acquisitions and divestitures.

Andrew combines the perspective of an inventor and software developer with training in financial management. As a named inventor on seven granted patents, including inventions in IoT asset tracking, remote sensing, and connected devices, he has first-hand insight into how patented technology is developed, protected, and commercialized. He applies that insight with project teams to understand the technology behind client portfolios, from wireless and IoT systems to software and cloud platforms, and to translate technical subject matter into sound financial analysis. Andrew also led the development of the firm’s proprietary royalty rate and patent transaction databases, structuring research compiled by the firm’s analysts into a cloud-based platform, and works alongside managers and analysts to develop the analytical and reporting tools that support client engagements. This work has increased the speed, scale, and consistency of the firm’s analysis and reporting.

Before joining FIN IP Group, Andrew spent 13 years in software development and technical leadership at BlackBerry. As a full stack developer, he wrote IoT software that scaled to tens of thousands of devices for enterprise customers in the intermodal shipping industry, and as a QA team lead he directed a team of eight in test automation, data visualization, and reporting.

Sheryl Macdonell is Operations Manager at FIN IP Group, where she oversees the operational and business development initiatives that support the firm’s growth and client relationships. She manages the administrative processes that keep client work running smoothly from contract execution through invoicing.

Sheryl works closely with firm leadership and project teams to improve internal processes, support client relationships, and ensure business priorities are executed effectively. She also manages much of the firm’s marketing, communications, and event management, including its presence at leading industry gatherings such as IPBC Global and IPBC Europe.

Sheryl brings more than 15 years of experience in the intellectual property sector. Before joining the firm, she held business development, client engagement, and marketing roles at the IP law firm Brion Raffoul LLP and at TechInsights, a leading provider of patent and technology intelligence.

Laura Bradshaw is Senior Legal Counsel at FIN IP Group, where she also serves as the firm’s General Counsel. She advises on patent licensing, intellectual property, and technology transactions, bringing a practitioner’s understanding of how license terms, deal structure, and legal risk shape the value of patent assets.

Laura works alongside the firm’s valuation and royalty rate teams on matters where legal and economic questions intersect, including the review of patent license agreements, acquisition and divestiture terms, and the agreements that govern licensing programs and portfolio transactions. She also oversees the firm’s own legal and contractual affairs.

Laura has more than 20 years of legal experience in private practice and senior in-house roles, much of it in the patent licensing and technology sectors. She most recently served as Senior Vice-President, Legal and Senior Counsel at Wi-LAN Inc., one of the industry’s most established patent licensing companies, and previously held legal positions at Research In Motion, Tundra Semiconductor, and Stikeman Elliott.

Deepro Sengupta is a Senior Financial Analyst at FIN IP Group, where he performs the financial modeling, market research, addressable revenues analysis, and valuation that supports critical IP deals.

Deepro is known for his exceptional technical aptitude and ability to build robust, transparent, and scalable analytical models. He plays a key role in the development of the financial models, datasets, and analytical frameworks that support FIN IP Group’s valuation, royalty rate, and addressable revenue engagements. In addition to client work, he leads many of the firm’s technology initiatives, including website development, automation, data management, and internal systems, helping improve both the speed and quality of the firm’s analytical capabilities.

Deepro holds the Advanced Financial Modeler (AFM) accreditation, an MBA in Business Analytics, and graduate training in economics, a combination that brings both economic grounding and technical depth to the evaluation of patent portfolios.

Alexander Daicar is a Senior Financial Analyst at FIN IP Group, where he performs financial modeling, market research, addressable revenue analysis, royalty rate analysis, and supports IP licensing, SEP pricing, transactions, and valuation engagements.

Alexander is known for his exceptional attention to detail, intellectual curiosity, and methodical approach to analysis. Drawing on his experience as a Chartered Professional Accountant, he has a talent for identifying the details others overlook, uncovering key economic terms, and ensuring complex analyses are both accurate and defensible. Whether reviewing patent license agreements, building financial models, or supporting valuation engagements, Alexander is committed to understanding the underlying economics and delivering work clients can trust and rely upon.

Prior to joining FIN IP Group, Alexander worked at KPMG and the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, where he developed a strong foundation in auditing, financial analysis, and professional standards. His combination of accounting expertise, financial training, and analytical rigor supports clients across a wide range of intellectual property transactions and valuation assignments.

Eric Tran is a Financial Analyst at FIN IP Group, where he performs financial modeling, market research, addressable revenue analysis, royalty rate analysis, and supports IP licensing, transactions, and valuation engagements.

Eric is known for his ability to quickly understand complex technologies and connect them to their underlying commercial value. Drawing on his background in both finance and the medical sciences, he helps project teams evaluate patented technologies, assess addressable markets, and develop the analyses that support licensing, valuation, and transaction decisions. His unique combination of analytical and technical skills allows him to contribute across a broad range of industries and technologies.

Prior to joining FIN IP Group, Eric worked in research and financial analysis roles at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. His experience evaluating data, conducting research, and solving complex analytical problems provides a strong foundation for supporting intellectual property transactions and valuations.

Aaron Cheung is a Financial Analyst at FIN IP Group, where he supports patent valuation, royalty rate development, licensing strategy, and transaction engagements through financial modeling, market research, and addressable revenue analysis. He researches the products, markets, and companies that use patented technology, helping clients evaluate opportunities, identify potential licensees, and understand the value of their intellectual property.

Aaron brings experience in market and equity research, which he applies to evaluating company financials, industry dynamics, and the commercial factors that drive patent value. His ability to uncover, analyze, and synthesize large volumes of information helps clients make informed decisions across licensing, valuation, and transaction matters.

Morgan Combden is a Financial Analyst at FIN IP Group, where she supports patent valuation, royalty rate, licensing, and transaction engagements through financial analysis and research. She analyzes market data, company financials, licensing activity, and industry trends that inform portfolio pricing, valuation conclusions, and licensing strategies.

Morgan brings experience in financial analysis and investment research, combined with studies in communication and media. This unique background allows her to transform complex analyses into clear, client-ready insights and presentations that support negotiations, licensing programs, and strategic decision-making.

Alex Liang is a Financial Analyst at FIN IP Group, where he supports patent transactions, acquisitions, divestitures, valuations, and licensing engagements through financial modeling, market research, and transaction analysis. He helps clients evaluate patent portfolios, develop acquisition models, and assess bidding and pricing strategies for intellectual property assets.

Alex brings experience in sell-side advisory and search funds, giving him a strong understanding of valuation, transactions, and investment decision-making. He applies this transaction-focused perspective to help clients evaluate the financial and commercial considerations that drive value in patent acquisitions, portfolio sales, and licensing opportunities.