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A conversation with Amazon’s Brand Protection Hero
Podcast
2 mins

A conversation with Amazon’s Brand Protection Hero

Table of Contents:

    Amazon is considered one of the biggest international e-commerce companies. By 2020, it was considered the leading online marketplace, with close to $386bn in net sales. Due to Covid-19 and the increase in online shoppers, Amazon grew 220 percent. 

    We were able to take some time from Benjamin Okeke, Senior Corporate Counsel at Amazon, to talk about all things brand protection. You can listen to the full conversation on our Heroes of Brand Protection podcast or continue reading for a glimpse into his journey.  

    Key takeaways:
    • Amazon’s business overview. 
    • Challenges faced as Senior Corporate Counsel.
    • Advice for fellow IP professionals. 

    The following is part of the transcript of Heroes of Brand Protection podcast, featuring a conversation between B. Okeke, and Daniel Shapiro, Red Points’ VP of Brand Relationships. 

    Q stands for questions from Daniel Shapiro.

    Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

    I think scale. As you continue to progress in your career the more responsibility, the larger the breath, of what you’re covering so to speak. Scaling yourself becomes a real challenge: scaling across your team, across other teams in the enterprise, and making sure you are able to bring your whole self to anything that you work on.

    One of the things that’s unique for me is that there aren’t a lot of Black men that occupy this space. It also presents its own bit of challenge, and its own unique experience. For me recruiting, and encouraging other young Black female and male attorneys to get into IP is a challenge that I’ve taken on for myself.

    Q: What are the challenges you foresee in the Brand Protection industry?

    Access! 

    The amount of consumer exposure that can be had with just the click of a button, and the nimble nature of counterfeiters…The term whack-a-mole has kind of become the passing term for what we do but it still fits, right? You’re trying to stay ahead of the game, and stay ahead of the trends. Working together, almost in a tripod fashion where you have government, stores, and brands working together, sharing knowledge, etc. I think that’s going to be the big challenge going into the future. We all have this common problem: counterfeiters. 

    Q: What advice would you give someone wanting to pursue a career similar to yours?

    In one line: be open to the journey. I didn’t know I was going to land here, this was not the plan. I was open to the different positions and different places that the journey took me. I think had I been rigid, and kept my kind of youthful myopic approach, I may not have ended up where I am now.

    benjamin-okeke-amazon

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