Martin Ekvad is the Director of Legal Affairs at the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) since October 2023. He served as President of the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) from 2011 to 2021, leading the European Union Agency responsible for granting intellectual property rights for new plant varieties valid throughout the EU territory. Prior to his presidency, he was Head of Legal Unit at the CPVO from 2003 to 2011, where he developed deep expertise in plant variety rights and EU regulatory frameworks.  Between 2021 and 2023, Martin Ekvad founded Ekvad Consulting, providing specialized advice primarily in intellectual property rights and EU regulatory affairs.  His earlier career includes seven years as a lawyer with leading international law firms: Linklaters in Brussels and Magnusson Wahlin Advokatbyrå in Stockholm (1996-2003), where his principal areas of practice were intellectual property rights and competition law.

Martin Ekvad holds a law degree from the University of Lund, Sweden, and an LL.M. from King’s College London.