IB Woman
Issue No. 45 - Feb/March 2009
Adelaide base to globe
by Penelope Herbert
Amanda Treleaven has enjoyed a circuitous route to er present role representing Avantiq, a global company specialising in trademark searches.
As a competitive swimmer attending Unley High School, Amanda won a sporting scholarship to study at Ohio State University in the USA. She earned a degree in communications before retiring from swimming and moving to New York. She says her working life really began there as an intern with Penguin books working on their ‘Rough Guide’ series – a competitor to Lonely Planet Guides.
“After my internship I became an International Sales Assistant. I learned to be aware of and sensitive to different cultural values around the world through the books we could and could not sell into certain regions,” Amanda explains.
“From Penguin I was recruited to Interbrand Wood Healthcare where I worked in brand strategy, naming and research. Part of my role was to research certain brand names in other languages to ensure they were not offensive or already being used.
“We used the Avantiq services for screening potential trade marks across numerous countries. This include important peripheral research into company and domain names, and International Non-proprietary Nomenclature- worldwide rules for naming pharmaceuticals - that may also see a conflict for the potential marks.”
After more than five years overseas Amanda felt the call to return to Adelaide where she continued to freelance for Interbrand. However she also accepted a full-time job with Detpak as a marketing assistant for the Australian region. Six months later the Detpak Group was created to provide a global focus and Amanda spent time working between Adelaide and South Africa.
“I had met the owner of Avantiq, Brigitta Best, who is based in Luxembourg, and I was struck by her business acumen and humanitarian focus,” says Amanda, “so when she told me that Avantiq was expanding into Australia I told her I’d be interested. She...
