Gentherm, a developer of innovative thermal management technologies, announced recently that Wayne Kauffman has been appointed vice president and general counsel effective July 1.
Kauffman will oversee all legal matters for Gentherm including corporate governance, intellectual property, litigation, securities regulation, corporate compliance and data privacy. He will report to Phil Eyler, Gentherm’s president and CEO, and serve on the company’s executive committee. Kaufmann succeeds Ken Phillips, who has decided to leave the company for personal reasons.
“I am pleased that Wayne is stepping up to assume the general counsel role and joining our executive management team. The combination of his 15 years of legal experience in addition to his deep automotive operations and engineering background make Wayne a strategic partner to provide both legal and business counsel to drive Gentherm’s focused growth,” said Eyler. “Wayne is an accomplished intellectual property strategist and leveraging this unique skill set with the executive team will accelerate our technology plan.”
Eyler added, “Ken served as Gentherm’s general counsel for nearly seven years and has been a vital part of the development and execution of the company’s growth from a start-up, as well as playing a critical role in the recent transformation of the business. I want to personally thank Ken for his dedication and commitment to Gentherm and wish him well.”
For the past five years, Kauffman has led Gentherm’s intellectual property policy and development, and was a key driver in various other legal matters including litigation, commercial agreements and employee agreements. He joined Gentherm from Robert Bosch LLC, where he supported Bosch divisions in intellectual property development. Kauffman began his legal career with the national IP law firm of Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C., where he primarily assisted clients in securing patent rights. Prior to that, Kauffman began his career with General Motors, where he held various positions of increasing responsibility over his 17-year tenure in vehicle manufacturing, product development and vehicle safety and integration in both the U.S. and Canada.
Kauffman holds a J.D. in Law from Wayne State University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University.
