Waldo is a Rouse principal, based in Cape Town, South Africa. He has extensive experience in IP related matters throughout Africa and the Middle East, with a focus on helping clients derive maximum value from the creation, management and exploitation of IP assets.
From a very young age, Waldo wanted to be among the best in whatever he did. It’s hard to say where his drive to excel came from. He points to a recent article by Mohammad Tuhin (a Doctor of Philosophy at North Carolina State University) who wrote that “Modern psychology approaches identity not as a fixed object, but as a process—a dynamic construction that emerges from the interplay of biology, memory, emotion, cognition, and environment. You are not a singular thing, but a story in motion.” Waldo believes that he has been blessed with enough of this mix to have understood from a young age that we have the ability to choose who we are, and the responsibility to make that choice every day of our lives.
Waldo grew up in a home where his parents taught him to treat everyone with respect and fairness. His father stimulated discussions about religion and philosophy and no topic was ever off the table. Growing up in a house with deeply rooted Christian values, but with no restraint on free thinking, has grounded Waldo, yet given him the open-mindedness to engage positively with an ever changing world.
Waldo was 12 years old when he decided that he wanted to become an attorney. At that time, it was because he wanted to become involved in politics. It was a time of significant change in the South African political landscape with FW de Klerk taking over as leader of the National Party. It was also around this time that Waldo took up public speaking and debating. This is where he learned the importance of the ‘long game’, working for four years to reach a national debating championship, there to be handed the runners-up award by FW de Klerk himself.
Being able to attend university, was for him an absolute privilege. He enjoyed his arts degree with philosophy and political science giving colour to the law courses. That was followed by an LLB degree and ultimately an LLM with a focus on international trade. However, not giving up on his interest in philosophy, Waldo wrote his mini-dissertation for his LLM degree on the concept of ‘justice’ in the context of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa.
During his time at university, Waldo’s nickname amongst his law school friends became ‘the reasonable man’; a reference to the legal standard for determining negligence. He was given the nickname because he seemed to be a voice of reason when some of those friends wanted to get up to some really reckless stuff. That same nickname was given to Waldo independently by colleagues in two different law firms where he worked over the years. There must be something in it.
After university, he had no thought of focusing on intellectual property law, until a partner at the well-known South African law firm, Adams & Adams, persuaded him to do his training contract there. It turned out to be one of those life-changing opportunities, providing him with excellent legal training and setting him on the path to a career in intellectual property.
Like many other South African professionals, however, he had always planned to travel to the UK, so after some years of practice in South Africa, he set off for London. It was the beginning of an adventure that began with him working as a para-legal on large due diligence matters, with a multinational law firm. The hours were long and he would often get a taxi home after midnight, paid for by the firm, the taxi fare being about the same as his daily wage. From there, the adventure continued with a leading Middle East firm in Dubai, managing the intellectual property portfolio of one of the firm’s major clients. The time with this firm was extraordinary for Waldo, not only because of work he was doing, and the international travel, but also because he received a full scholarship to study for an MBA at the University of Wollongong in Dubai. Waldo’s hard work paid off, and he ended up being the top graduating student and asked to present the vote of thanks at the graduation ceremony.
For the past 12 years, his professional focus has been on transactional IP matters, solving problems, and helping clients get the best commercial outcomes and the maximum value from their IP assets. These days, he is very happy to be part of Rouse, where the focus is on creating, protecting, and managing IP assets in the context of overall business strategy.
On the personal front, Waldo takes parenthood very seriously and believes that if you want to have children, you must take full responsibility for sending good human beings out into the world. He has two sons; Gray is 16 and Bismarck is 11 and he absolutely adores them. They spend as much time together as they can, sharing and listening to new music, talking about life (a lot about politics) and games (really a lot about games!), and driving to and playing/watching hockey. Lots and lots of hockey. Both boys play field hockey and Waldo is proud that they have both learned not only the long-game (working now for what they want in the long run), but also that nothing comes without hard work and sacrifice.
Waldo’s desire to excel is not limited to his career, but permeates every aspect of his life. What it means for him, is that his “story in motion” is to try, every day, to be the best version of himself: the best father, the best partner, the best lawyer....