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Intellectual property specialist Joel Vertes is – officially – a rising star of the legal industry and has just been promoted to Partner at his international law firm.

In each of the past three years, Joel (OE 1991–1998) has been named both as a Rising Star in IP law and a Super Lawyer for Intellectual Property in Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers publications. He has also been ranked by the influential Legal 500 guide to leading lawyers and described as an ‘excellent IP specialist’.

Joel is still in touch with some of his old teachers at QE – where he is fondly remembered for his early ambition and ability – and has also remained very close with many old School friends. A member of Harrisons’ House, he was a Prefect and Senior Lieutenant.

After gaining straight As in English, French and Mathematics in his A-levels, Joel went up to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, to read Law. After graduating in 2001, he took the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law (now University of Law).  In 2006, he gained a distinction in his postgraduate diploma in Commercial IP at Nottingham Law School.

Joel has established a highly successful career with global lawyers Olswang LLP, which he joined as a trainee solicitor in 2003, having first travelled the world for a year. He became part of Olswang’s specialist IP team – one of the largest such teams in Europe – and has just been promoted to Partner in the same team. He specialises in both enforcement and commercial exploitation of intellectual property rights such as copyright, trademarks, patents and designs. He has a particular focus on the leisure, retail, technology and sport sectors, with clients including Microsoft, Chelsea FC, ITV and LinkedIn.

Joel is the head of Olswang’s international, Franchising & Licensing Group. In this role, he regularly advises clients on complex international deals exploiting brands overseas. He has acted for many clients, including major fashion brands, restaurant groups, hotels and sports brands, exploiting their brands in territories such as China, India, Morocco and Greece, or importing foreign concepts into the UK market.  Joel is also an experienced litigator, especially in anti-piracy, anti-counterfeiting, copyright and brand enforcement. He has worked on many high profile litigation matters at every level of the English and European Courts.

Joel is also a lecturer on the British Association for Sport and the Law (BASL) Sports Law course at De Montfort University.

Joel is married and has recently celebrated the birth of his third child. In his spare time, he enjoys following Manchester United.

In a career that has taken in City trading floors, learning high-speed driving manoeuvres, postings in Africa and senior management with a FTSE250 insurance company, Paresh Thakrar has learned a few things!

A keen advocate of ‘portfolio careers’ – “more interesting and more fun” – OE Paresh believes one of the key lessons is that it is important to continue to learn and renew yourself throughout your career.

“There is no substitute for ‘experiential learning’, taking risks in your career choices and following your interests, so long as you can demonstrate some consistent thought around your decisions.”

“As careers have become so specialised in every field of work from law to medicine to finance, there is more need than ever for people who can bring together the various threads into a coherent strategy,” adds Paresh, who is now Chief Operating Officer at Hiscox.

Paresh left the School in 1993 with an unusual collection of A-levels – Physics, Maths, Economics and Russian – but it gave him plenty of options for university. He chose to do Natural Sciences at Cambridge, enjoying the freedom to mix ‘hard’ subjects like physics with options such as zoology or history, and philosophy of science and psychology. “Churchill College was a great choice – out of town, tranquil and with the Cavendish Laboratories on the doorstep. QE had developed good links with the college over time, too.”

On graduating, he headed for the City, working at Deutsche Bank. “The mix of ‘quant’ skills and problem-solving rigour imparted through a Natural Sciences degree is a hugely valuable asset on a trading floor.” He spent five years as an emerging markets trader, trading everything from equity derivatives to foreign exchange and thriving in the “pacey, meritocratic culture”. During an exciting time in the financial industry, he enjoyed opportunities to spend time in South Africa and Eastern Europe.

Deciding it was time for a new challenge, he then served in various roles at the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office from 2001–2008. “Following a gruelling training programme, I came in after the 9/11 turmoil.” His financial background proved valuable in trying to unravel and understand the new world that emerged after the terrorist attacks in the US. “It gave me a fascinating insight into a fast-paced area of government and a huge amount of autonomy in a career where you could find yourself chasing down leads in the Far East one week and the Middle East the next. I never dreamt I would be posted in Nairobi, doing “j-turns” in a Ford Focus on an abandoned airfield, or jumping out of a helicopter into the English Channel. Whatever your best-laid career plans, sometimes it’s just best to follow what you find fun.”

Finding the travel demands of diplomatic life at odds with being a good parent after the birth of his first child, Paresh went back to studying and in 2008–10 he took an MBA at London Business School, looking to move back into the private sector.

After an enjoyable two years, he took a role at management consultants McKinsey, “working with some of the smartest and inspiring of colleagues”. The highlights included “pulling my first all-nighter at the ripe age of 35” and working for financial institutions after the international financial crisis alongside some of the most senior leaders at the big banks. “The lessons I learnt were to never be afraid to network and reach out to mentors and colleagues who can often be the source of the most unexpected opportunities – and always to look for ways to reinvent yourself.”

In 2013, he began his present role, as Chief Operating Officer at FTSE250 insurance company Hiscox. “I was attracted to the small, rewarding and entrepreneurial culture with a distinctive market positioning and a hugely ambitious management team I wanted to work with.” Paresh’s areas of responsibility include strategy, IT and operations for the reinsurance business.

Paresh still lives in Hertfordshire; he is married and now has three boys.

The School marked half a century of dinner debates with an evening that included a stimulating speech about OE Joe Sheffer’s experience as a war journalist.

The 50th Annual Dinner Debate brought together current Year 12 boys and Old Elizabethans to debate the motion ‘This House Believes that prosperity is the best measure of success’. The special anniversary was mentioned several times by the chairman, Pranesh Varadarajan, in his introductory and concluding remarks.

“The school was wonderfully represented by Omar Haider and Zaheer Badat,” said Nisha Mayer, teacher in charge of debating. However, it was the OEs opposing the motion, Arjun Sajip (2004-2011) and Joseph Masters (2004-2011), who carried the day.

“The chairman, Pranesh, noted that the vote at the beginning of proceedings was heavily in favour of the visiting OE opposition and then swung at the end of a fascinating debate and floor discussion more in favour of the proposition, but with the opposition still winning overall,” Mrs Mayer said.

The event began around 6pm with a drinks reception for guests and VIPs, including several OEs, and “concluded around 10pm after a very enjoyable evening”, reports Mrs Mayer.

There were the traditional toasts to ‘Her Majesty, the Queen’ and ‘The Pious Memory of Queen Elizabeth I’. School Captain Norbert Sobolak proposed the toast to ‘The Visitors’, while the toast to ‘The Elizabethan Union’ was proposed by the after-dinner speaker, Joe Sheffer (2000-2007).

The diners enjoyed a starter of houmous with olives and pitta bread. The main course comprised Cajun butterfly chicken supremes with savoury saffron rice and coleslaw pot, or a vegetarian alternative of Mediterranean vegetable & butter bean ragout. The desserts of chocolate gateau with cream, or lemon tart with raspberry coulis, were followed by coffee or tea with petits fours.

Paresh Thakrar has embraced both risk and variety in the course of his fascinating and successful career.

Paresh left the School in 1993 with an eclectic collection of A-levels – Physics, Maths, Economics and Russian – but it gave him plenty of options for university. He chose to do Natural Sciences at Cambridge, enjoying the freedom to mix ‘hard’ subjects like physics with options such as zoology or history, and philosophy of science and psychology. “Churchill College was a great choice – out of town, tranquil and with the Cavendish Laboratories on the doorstep. QE had developed good links with the college over time, too.”

On graduating, he headed for the City, working at Deutsche Bank. “The mix of ‘quant’ skills and problem-solving rigour imparted through a Natural Sciences degree is a hugely valuable asset on a trading floor.” He spent five years as an emerging markets trader, trading everything from equity derivatives to foreign exchange, and thriving in the “pacey, meritocratic culture”. During an exciting time in the financial industry, he enjoyed opportunities to spend time in South Africa and Eastern Europe.

Deciding it was time for a new challenge, he then served in various roles at the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office from 2001–2008. “Following a gruelling training programme, I came in after the 9/11 turmoil.” His financial background proved valuable in trying to unravel and understand the new world that emerged after the terrorist attacks in the US. “It gave me a fascinating insight into a fast-paced area of government and a huge amount of autonomy in a career where you could find yourself chasing down leads in the Far East one week and the Middle East the next. I never dreamt I would be posted in Nairobi, doing “j-turns” in a Ford Focus on an abandoned airfield, or jumping out of a helicopter into the English Channel. Whatever your best-laid career plans, sometimes it's just best to follow what you find fun.”

Finding the travel demands of diplomatic life at odds with being a good parent after the birth of his first child, Paresh went back to studying and in 2008–10 he took an MBA at London Business School, looking to move back into the private sector.

After an enjoyable two years, he took a role at management consultants McKinsey, “working with some of the smartest and most inspiring of colleagues”. The highlights included “pulling my first all-nighter at the ripe age of 35” and working for financial institutions after the international financial crisis alongside some of the most senior leaders at the big banks. “The lessons I learnt were to never be afraid to network and reach out to mentors and colleagues, who can often be the source of the most unexpected opportunities – and always to look for ways to reinvent yourself.”

In 2013, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer at FTSE250 insurance company Hiscox. “I was attracted to the small, rewarding and entrepreneurial culture with a distinctive market positioning and a hugely ambitious management team I wanted to work with.” Paresh’s areas of responsibility include strategy, IT and operations for the reinsurance business.

A keen advocate of ‘portfolio careers’ – “more interesting and more fun” – OE Paresh believes one of the key lessons is that it is important to continue to learn and renew yourself throughout your career. “There is no substitute for ‘experiential learning’, taking risks in your career choices and following your interests, so long as you can demonstrate some consistent thought around your decisions.”

“As careers have become so specialised in every field of work from law to medicine to finance, there is more need than ever for people who can bring together the various threads into a coherent strategy,” he adds.

Paresh still lives in Hertfordshire; he is married and has three boys.

With the launch of his own company, Antony Pink has realised a long-standing ambition to become an entrepreneur.

Antony (OE 2000-2007) was a keen rugby-player during his time at School, when he was known as Kishan. He later began to use his middle name Antony and went on to study Business Management at Nottingham University, where he developed a fascination with business, which has been a constant theme in his life.

“While at Nottingham I was involved in business start-up societies and it was always in my mind that one day I would like to launch a business of my own.”

After university, Antony joined multinational management consultancy Accenture as a consultant, aligned to Accenture’s IT Strategy practice and working predominantly within the financial services sector and in communications and media sectors.

Nearly four years later, in 2014, he took the decision to leave a secure job and instead launch a mobile start-up company, Laundrapp, with two business partners. They have raised £1.5million of seed funding from well-known investors Rupert Hambro (former Chairman of Hambros Bank) and Dominic Perks.

Laundrapp offers customers a door-to-door laundry and dry-cleaning collection and delivery service, initially operating in London and five other UK cities.

One of Laundrapp’s strategies was to advertise heavily and to invest in PR. A six-figure marketing investment resulted in TV and radio commercials, online and outdoor advertising, and posters on the Underground (in stations and in trains). Features in the Daily Telegraph, Guardian and Daily Mail, as well as articles in the specialist business and technology press, have also formed part of the marketing mix.

Laundrapp is available on iOS (iPhone/iPad) and Android.