Mr Conductor Paul Masena was appointed as  the inaugural Registrar  General of CIPA in August 2013. He is charged with driving the strategic  direction of the Authority and ensuring that CIPA delivers its mandate  as per the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority Act, 2011.

Mr Masena joined the then Registrar of Companies and Intellectual  Property Authority (ROCIP) in 1999 as a Commercial Officer and rose  through the ranks to Commercial Officer – Head of Companies and Business  Names (2001), Senior Commercial Officer – Head of Copyright Section  (2003), Principal Commercial Officer – Head of Companies Division  (2007), Deputy Registrar (2009), Registrar (2011),  until he become the  Registrar General at the newly created parastatal (CIPA). He is credited  with putting in place processes that significantly reduced the  turn-around times for registering companies in Botswana, spearheading  the amendments of the Companies Act, Copyright Act and the Industrial  Property Act, and leading the transformation of ROCIP to an autonomous  body. Mr Masena has also cemented CIPA’s relationship with international  bodies such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO),  African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) and the  Corporate Registers Forum among others, ensuring that all CIPA  activities are based on international standards.

A seasoned professional who has extensive experience in both  Copyright and Industrial Property, Mr Masena was elected to chair ARIPO  Administrative Council from 2009 to 2011. During his tenure as  chairperson, ARIPO adopted the Swakopmund Protocol on Traditional  Knowledge and Expressions of Folklore, approved a new organogram  transforming ARIPO  into a more effective organisation and registered a  surplus budget.