Joseph F. Villella, Jr.
Director
Joe Villella transitioned in mid-2025 from an executive director role at Longitude to a non-executive director on the board of Longitude. Joe joined Longitude as Chief Licensing Officer when it began operations in 2014 in Dublin. In that role, he was responsible for maximizing the value of Longitude’s portfolio of semiconductor, display and storage solution patents and contributed to its success by negotiating numerous patent license agreements.
With experience in Europe, the United States and Asia, most recently Mr. Villella was Vice President, Head of Patent Department for Infineon Technologies AG in Munich. In this role, he oversaw Infineon’s global intellectual property protection, licensing and litigation activities for a portfolio totalling 17,000 patents and applications. Over the last 20 years, Joe has spoken extensively in Europe at conferences and universities. He is a past chair of the IP section of the European Semiconductor Industry Association.
Prior to Infineon, Mr. Villella was Executive Director, Intellectual Property and Chief Patent Counsel with Seagate Technology in California. He led and supported all of Seagate’s global intellectual property matters, including managing a worldwide portfolio of more than 3,000 patents and applications. Mr. Villella was also a partner at Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich. He enjoyed a 20-year career in the IP Group at IBM Corp., holding a series of increasingly senior counsel positions around the United States and in Asia. During his time in Asia, he worked with government officials around the region in strengthening IP protection.
Mr. Villella earned a Juris Doctor (JD) from George Washington University, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) from Purdue University, and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) from University of Notre Dame.