Corporate Registers Forum 2017
March 6-10, 2017
Hong Kong
Speakers

Conductor Paul Masena

Registrar General,
Companies and Intellectual Property Authority,
Botswana


BIOGRAPHY

Mr Conductor Paul Masena was appointed as  the inaugural Registrar General of CIPA in August 2013. He is charged with driving the strategic direction of the Authority and ensuring that CIPA delivers its mandate as per the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority Act, 2011.

Mr Masena joined the then Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (ROCIP) in 1999 as a Commercial Officer and rose through the ranks to Commercial Officer - Head of Companies and Business Names (2001), Senior Commercial Officer - Head of Copyright Section (2003), Principal Commercial Officer - Head of Companies Division (2007), Deputy Registrar (2009), Registrar (2011),  until he become the Registrar General at the newly created parastatal (CIPA). He is credited with putting in place processes that significantly reduced the turn-around times for registering companies in Botswana, spearheading the amendments of the Companies Act, Copyright Act and the Industrial Property Act, and leading the transformation of ROCIP to an autonomous body. Mr Masena has also cemented CIPA's relationship with international bodies such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) and the Corporate Registers Forum among others, ensuring that all CIPA activities are based on international standards.

A seasoned professional who has extensive experience in both Copyright and Industrial Property, Mr Masena was elected to chair ARIPO Administrative Council from 2009 to 2011. During his tenure as chairperson, ARIPO adopted the Swakopmund Protocol on Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Folklore, approved a new organogram transforming ARIPO  into a more effective organisation and registered a surplus budget.

Mr Masena is a holder of a Master of Intellectual Property, Commerce and Technology, a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Economics and a Diploma in Trade Policy from the World Trade Organisation. He has also worked for the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology, Botswana Export Development and Investment Promotion Agency (BEDIA) as well as the Trade & Investment Promotion Agency (TIPA).  He is currently a Board Member of Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants.