Jamster Capital LLC

The team that comprises Jamster Capital has perhaps more experience in IP transactions and trusted client relationships than any other in the industry. Formed in 2017 and led by John Amster, who has personally been involved in billions of dollars worth of transactions, the firm combines decades of experience building the largest patent acquirers (RPX , IV, AST), driving IP practices at growth-focused investment banks and consultancies (Stifel, Cowen, Accenture, Aon), and leading IP departments at major law firms and technology companies (Simpson Thacher, Cisco).

John A. Amster

CEO

John is the founder and CEO of Jamster Capital LLC and has been a leading innovator in the IP industry for the past 25+ years. Previously, John served as the founder and CEO of Rowan Patents, a provider of integrated, AI-enabled drafting solutions for patent practitioners, which completed its sale to Clarivate in 2024. Prior to Rowan, John was a co-founder and CEO of RPX Corporation from 2008-2017, creating the first defensive patent aggregator, leading his team from inception to a $850 million IPO in 2011, and building the business to over 300 clients and $300M in annual revenue. Before co-founding RPX, Mr. Amster was the General Manager of Strategic Acquisitions and Vice President of Licensing at Intellectual Ventures, a Managing Director and founder of the M&A Advisory practice for Ocean Tomo, and Vice President and Secretary at InterTrust Technologies. Mr. Amster received his J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and his B.A. from Middlebury College.

Justin Basara

Managing Director

Justin has 20+ years experience in the IP industry and has led the patent analysis and negotiations of hundreds of acquisitions while at Rowan Patents, RPX and at Ocean Tomo. Justin has his B.S. in Business Administration, Management, MIS, and International Business from the University of Notre Dame. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbasara/

Linda Biel

Senior Advisor

Linda has been in the IP industry for over 15 years, specializing in client development and relations for Rowan Patents, AST, PatentFreedom, Provenance Asset Group. Before that she was in sales and marketing for IBM, and engineering cost development for General Dynamics. Linda earned her B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lbiel/

Hilary Chase

Vice President

Hilary has 7+ years experience in IP, Management Consulting, and Private Equity. Most recently Hilary served a Director in Aon’s Quality of IP practice group conducting analysis on business-to-patent alignment in buyside and sell-side M&A transactions. Prior to that she served as a 5G product strategy consultant at Slalom for a large telecom provider. Hilary has extensive experience in IP strategy, portfolio management and monetization having worked at Allied Inventors and at Northwestern University's technology transfer office. Hilary has her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Northwestern and her B.S. in Chemistry from Providence College. https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilary-chase-phd/

Jay Herwitz

Managing Director

Jay has 15+ years experience in the IP and Consulting industries, having most recently led Legal Management Consulting at Rowan Patents. Previously, he led Patent Analysis at RPX. Jay has extensive experience in portfolio analysis and valuation, and has also worked for Lockheed Martin and Deloitte Consulting. Jay has his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. Jay is a registered patent agent with the USPTO. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jherwitz/

Tom Lerdal

Senior Advisor

Tom has 20+ years in the IP, legal, and consulting industries, including client development, acquisitions, client relations, patent litigation and transactions for Rowan Patents, RPX, Banner & Witcoff, and Accenture. Tom has his J.D. from the University of Virginia and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona. Tom is a registered patent attorney. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaslerdal/

Jeff Ostrow

Managing Director

For over thirty years, Jeff has been a strategic and legal advisor to public and private companies on intellectual property matters across a broad spectrum of industries and technologies around the world. At Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where he chaired the IP Group, Jeff advised on hundreds of M&A and capital markets transactions. Jeff is also a litigator with extensive experience across a wide range of subject matter including patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, contract and licence disputes, antitrust, investigations, securities, privacy, and cyber matters.

Since 2013, Jeff has taught at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He developed a popular class on how organizations make strategic decisions regarding their IP and technology, and the IP and technology of their domestic and global competitors. In recent years, AI has been at the forefront of issues under consideration in the class. Conversations have focused on how AI capabilities are impacted by existing case law, statute and regulatory policy — and how law and policy should evolve to meet the real world challenges that AI presents.

Pete Petitt

Managing Director

Pete brings over 25 years of transaction experience to Jamster Capital, having served in leadership roles spanning investment banking, corporate development and insurance. Most recently, he ran the IP Transaction Advisory practice at Aon, helping IP-rich companies navigate the M&A and capital markets. As an investment banker, Pete led origination and execution of M&A and financing transactions in the technology and IP licensing sectors with growth-focused firms including Stifel, Cowen and Robertson Stephens. Pete also served as VP Corporate Development for RPX, a patent risk management firm. Pete received his M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and his B.A. from The Colorado College. https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-petitt-4bb4275/

Neal Rubin

Managing Director

Neal is a Managing Director at Jamster Capital, responsible for advising technology companies and private investors on ways to maximize IP value and minimize IP-related risk. Prior to joining Jamster, Neal was Senior Vice President at RPX Corporation, Vice President of a Global Litigation at Cisco Systems for fifteen years and an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of California. Neal has testified on patent reform issues before the U.S. House of Representatives and spoken at the White House on how public companies can partner with law enforcement on trademark and anti-counterfeit efforts. Neal received his B.A. from Amherst College and his J.D. from the University of Southern California. https://www.linkedin.com/in/neal-rubin-8a8a6b3/

Griffin Weiler

Principal

Griffin has 12+ years of experience in IP and management consulting. Prior to joining Jamster Capital, Griffin led operations and execution in Aon's Quality of Intellectual Property group, under Aon's Growth Ventures, where he helped create and deliver IP solutions into the M&A and capital markets. Before Aon, Griffin spent many years in management consulting, focusing on M&A transactions and corporate strategy, after beginning his career at GE Capital. Griffin graduated with honors from The Pennsylvania State University. https://www.linkedin.com/in/griffinweiler/

Calvin Wong

Principal

Calvin has 13+ years of experience in IP and strategy consulting. Previous to joining Jamster Capital, Calvin led product development in Aon's Quality of Intellectual Property group where he helped to bring IP intelligence for the M&A market. Calvin also worked in Cisco's Corporate Strategy team to drive growth of software business and was a Senior Director at Sherpa Technology Group, a leading IP strategy firm. Calvin has his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Material Science from the University of California, Irvine and his M.B.A. from The Wharton School. https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvin-wong-b3b805a/

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