Bruce Villard
Job Title: Intellectual Property (IP) Manager
Company: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation
Bruce Villard is an Intellectual Property (IP) Manager for the Mission Systems sector at Northrop Grumman Corporation. In this role, he chairs a committee of engineers, scientists, and other subject matter experts reviewing employee invention disclosures for protection as a trade secret or patent. Bruce also provides leadership with the development and execution of global commercialization strategies. Prior to this role, Bruce was a member of Northrop Grumman’s Global Supply Chain organization where he led a team that helped draft and negotiate agreements with suppliers, and in this role, Bruce focused on the IP elements of these agreements. In both of his roles at Northrop Grumman, Bruce has been active in digital transformation tool development to assist others in the drafting and negotiation of agreements with a focus on IP and data rights elements.
Outside of Northrop Grumman, Bruce is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law where he teaches Licensing and Technology Transfer Law. He is licensed to practice law in Maryland and in front of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Bruce is Vice-Chairman of the Maryland Carey Law Alumni Board’s Alumni Awards Committee and is Treasurer of the Cawood Inns of Court in Annapolis. He is an active member of the Maryland State Bar Association’s IP Section and the Anne Arundel Bar Association.
Prior to working at Northrop Grumman, Bruce graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and worked for the IBM Corporation in various roles ranging from software testing and development of the high-transaction rate computer software used by many airlines, credit card processors, and government entities, to having legal project management and licensing-related responsibilities for other products. While in these roles, Bruce had two international assignments in South Korea and worked with many other customers in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East. In addition, Bruce worked at night while in these roles to get his MBA from Marist College and J.D. from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law.
Outside of work, Bruce enjoys spending time with family, snow-skiing, the beach, and rock-climbing.
Northrop Grumman is a technology company, focused on global security and human discovery. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with capabilities they need to connect, advance, and protect the U.S. and its allies. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our 90,000 employees define possible every day.