Laura Schoppe

In her 15 years of experience in IP management, Laura Schoppe has established an impressive track record of success in helping corporate, government, and university clients manage their technology proactively, efficiently, effectively. She has helped clients move their technologies into new markets as well as find sources for technology solutions to address their own R&D needs. She has experience in all aspects of IP management, but she is uniquely qualified to provide effective and experienced negotiation and licensing support and strategy consulting to IP organizations. She has developed and delivered technology commercialization training programs nationally and internationally. She also has successfully managed many technology marketing projects.

Since founding Fuentek in 2001, she has managed IP and technology management activities for American Standard Companies, the Korean Technology Licensing Consortium, Raytheon, Motorola, Roche Diagnostics, and Textron as well as the University of Illinois (UI), Michigan State University, and the University of Iowa’s Research Foundation, among other clients. In 2006, Fuentek and its partner SPC were awarded the contract to serve as the strategic and technology transfer consultant for NASA’s Innovative Partnerships Program with Ms. Schoppe as the principal investigator for the $30M, 5-year contract, making Fuentek the largest NASA contractor in North Carolina. Projects include the development of a systematic procedure for identifying “spin-in” partners for NASA and organizing and marketing NASA’s portfolio of technologies.

In addition, Ms. Schoppe has 12 years of experience leading research. She worked for several defense contractors as an engineer and manager. For example, at GE-Aerospace/Lockheed Martin, she was responsible for national and international new business development and R&D projects for advanced submarine and surface ship programs. She managed the efforts of 16 engineers in developing innovative advanced signal, imaging, and information products for the Navy, managing an internal budget of $6 million and projects exceeding $20 million.

She has recently presented at the International Astronautical Congress; the Management Roundtable/Product Development Management Association (MRT/PDMA) International Congress on Co-Developing Products with Partners, Suppliers, and Customers; and the Licensing Executives Society (LES) annual meeting. Her publications include a chapter in the new edition of The PDMA Handbook of New Product Development (2005, John Wiley & Sons), and an article in the LES journal les Nouvelles. Fuentek has won many awards, including the 2008 Triangle Business Journal Women in Business Award, Business Leader Entrepreneur of the Year, and the 2009 Chamber of Commerce Pinnacle Award for Small Business.

Ms. Schoppe holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill (where she also taught as an adjunct professor), an MS in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University, and a BS in mechanical engineering and engineering/public policy from Carnegie-Mellon University.