Raymond Millen

Raymond Millien is an intellectual-property and legal executive, not a traditional angel investor. He earned a B.S. in Computer Science from Columbia University and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School, and worked as a software engineer at General Electric before entering law. He began his legal career as an associate at Washington, D.C. firms Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox and DLA Piper, and later served as General Counsel of the IP merchant bank Ocean Tomo, LLC.

Over his corporate career he has led the IP function at GE Oil & Gas and American Express, and the software IP function at GE Healthcare. In 2018 he joined Volvo Car Corporation as Vice President and Global Chief IP Counsel (Chief IP Officer), overseeing a global team of attorneys, a multi-million-dollar legal budget, and roughly a dozen areas of focus spanning patent protection across the U.S., Europe and Asia, anti-counterfeiting, contracts, R&D counsel, and joint-venture formation. In parallel, from 2019 to 2021 he served as CEO of Volvo Car Technology Fund AB — the legal entity behind the Volvo Cars Tech Fund — which is the origin of the "ventures"/investor association in his profile.

In August 2021 Millien left Volvo to become CEO of the U.S. IP boutique Harness, Dickey & Pierce (Harness IP), running the firm's operations. He subsequently moved to Exro Technologies Inc. (TSX: EXRO), a Calgary-based power-electronics and electric-powertrain company, where he serves as General Counsel, VP of Legal & Corporate Secretary. He has been named one of the "World's 300 Leading IP Strategists" by IAM Magazine (2009–2016, 2019) and a "Corporate IP STAR" by Managing IP, and is a lecturer and published author.

• The Volvo Cars Tech Fund mandate (the vehicle Millien headed as CEO): make minority investments in high-potential, early-stage technology start-ups globally that support Volvo's long-term strategy, addressing or hedging technology gaps and improving manufacturing/supply-chain efficiency.
• Strategic technology trends targeted by the fund: artificial intelligence, electrification, autonomous driving, and digital mobility services.
• IP-as-value orientation: Millien's own stated philosophy centers on turning IP into a profit center — *"It's all about ensuring that you have the right personnel and infrastructure in place and devoting resources to analysing your portfolio."*
• On portfolio growth and enforcement: he described pursuing *"filings in the US, Europe and Asia"* plus *"acquiring rights on the secondary market,"* and on litigation: *"That option is always on the table … The fact they hired an American IP lawyer should tell you a lot."*
• Caveat: Day-to-day deal-sourcing/investment leadership of the Volvo Cars Tech Fund is publicly attributed to its head of fund (e.g., Lee Ma); Millien's role was as CEO of the corporate entity. Treat him as a strategic/legal principal of the fund rather than a check-writing angel.