Our Team – Meet SIM IP’s Expert IP Investment Team

Erich Spangenberg

Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer & Senior Managing Director

Erich has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of SIM IP since its founding. He is a recognized industry luminary in the patent business having acted as a principal in over $700 million of IP licensing transactions and over $1.5 billion of IP financing transactions and as an advisor in over $2 billion of IP licensing and financing transactions. Erich started his career as a corporate lawyer (working for Jones Day), then as an investment banker (having held positions at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette) and, before launching his entrepreneurial endeavors, worked in telecommunications and distressed debt.

Erich was a Periclean Scholar at Skidmore College where he earned his BA, a Distinguished Graduate with an M.Sc. from The London School of Economics and was on Law Review at Case Western Reserve University, where he earned his JD and is also on the board of SIM.

David Kutcher

Co-Founder, Chief Financial Officer & Senior Managing Director

David has served as the Chief Financial Officer, Co-head of Litigation Finance and Head of Structured Products of SIM IP since its founding. David has been an investor for more than 14 years, across a variety of strategies, stages and industries with a number of successful exits, including Vroom (Nasdaq: VRM), Immunome (Nasdaq: IMNM) and Montrose Environmental (NYSE: MEG). Portfolio companies which he was involved with went on to raise in excess of $2 billion and includes five unicorns. He also has two children, Winston and Elizabeth, and is often found at one of their many events, playing tennis, or walking Jack, a scruffy terrier-mix.

David is also a member of SIM IP's Board of Directors, the Board of SIM Acquisition Corp. I and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of the South (Sewanee) and a JD from Samford University (Cumberland).

Jennifer Burdman

Managing Director

Jennifer Burdman is a Managing Director at Sauvegarder Investment Management, specializing in intellectual property financing, investment, and monetization. She has been executive within biotechnology companies and spent over 18 years in private practice as a patent litigator, she brings extensive experience in developing and implementing IP strategies.

Jennifer holds a bachelors in biochemistry and molecular biology from Dartmouth College and a JD from Fordham University.

Dr. Colin Bristow

Managing Director - Head of SIM Life Sciences

Colin Bristow, M.D. is a Managing Director at SIM IP and Head of SIM Life Sciences. Prior to joining SIM IP in August 2024, Colin spent the last 15 years on Wall Street as a BioPharma sell side analyst at Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and UBS, and as a Buy side analyst at Citadel (~$2bn healthcare portfolio) and Millennium. While on the sell-side Colin made multiple appearances on CNBC (Closing Bell, Fast Money) and was designated a "Rising Star" by Institutional Investor. Colin currently provides strategic consulting to BioPharma companies at all stages of development and has made presentations to management to several major BioPharmas such as Eli Lilly and Biogen. Before his career on Wall Street, Colin trained as a physician in the UK, completing three years of his surgical residency. He then transitioned to drug development, working on early-stage clinical trials. Colin received his Medical Degree (MBChB) from the University of Leeds and has an MBA from Wharton.

Brian Berman

Director – Business Development

Brian Berman is Director of Business Development at SIM IP. With a background as a former USPTO Patent Examiner and experience in executive positions where he interacted extensively with global patent owners and National Patent Offices, Brian has a deep understanding of the patent ecosystem and has heavily focused on patent analytics his entire career.

Brian has his degree in biomedical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.

Don Bitting

Managing Director

Don Bitting is a Managing Director at SIM IP. Don brings more than 20 years of experience in IP strategy, licensing, and monetization. He began his career at AT&T Bell Laboratories in advanced materials and semiconductor systems, and went on to hold senior IP roles at IBM and General Electric, where he led cross-border licensing campaigns and strategic IP transactions. Most recently, Don served as Vice President of Licensing and Business Development at Strong Force Catalyst & Innovation Portfolios, where he led the development and execution of monetization programs across a diverse range of IP assets.

Don holds a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Florida and an MBA in Management from Lehigh University. He has been recognized in the IAM Strategy 300 in both 2023 and 2024 for his contributions to the global IP ecosystem.

Lingga Alithia

Director

Lingga Alithia held various strategic and analytical roles across the insurance, finance, and luxury sectors, including at AXA, JPMorgan, and Saint Laurent, Kering group. Her experience spans global marketing, business development, finance, and software engineering, with a strong focus on cross-functional execution in international environments. Lingga holds a Bachelor and Master of Business Administration from ESSEC Business School.

Yasser Zaghloul

Director of Patent Analytics

Yasser serves as Director of Patent Analytics at SIM IP, focusing on technical analysis and patent strategy. Prior to joining SIM IP, he served as a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, a licensed patent practitioner at a variety of top law firms and as the Director of Intellectual Property at Samsung Semiconductor. As a senior leader, Yasser pioneered development of various legal and filing strategies to increase leverageable assets, led technical analysis for high-profile ($100M+) cross-licensing deals and litigations, and guided non-infringement and invalidity efforts at various stages of contentions. Throughout his career Yasser amassed substantial experience, driven tangible impact, and demonstrated a strong track record of success in both patent prosecution as well as litigation support and management. Yasser holds a doctorate degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from a Georgia Institute of Technology and his research and technical areas of expertise span the fields of semiconductors, optics, telecommunications, software and artificial intelligence.

Cali Boustani

Associate

Cali Boustani works both in the intellectual property monetization and Life Sciences divisions of SIM conducting diligence, research and analysis of target opportunities. She has a Master of Science degree in Biotechnology and Economics at Brown University. Preceding her Masters, Cali obtained a Bachelors of Science in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of San Diego and worked at UCSD and Stanford, doing neuropharmacology research. Her work investigated neural mechanisms of pain and empathy using optogenetics, calcium imaging, and other pharmacological tools, which was eventually published in Science Journal and STAR Protocols.

David Byler

Chief of Staff

As an Executive Assistant at SIM IP, David Byler is a seasoned administrative professional and retired U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class with over 24 years of experience leading high-performing teams and managing complex operations across global military and civilian organizations.

Pioneers and global leaders in IP and investments