Tracey Cooke is head of patents at British American Tobacco (BAT). After completing a degree and DPhil in organic chemistry, Cooke worked for six years in research, splitting her time between pharmaceuticals and agrichemicals. She started as a trainee patent attorney at Glaxo Wellcome in 2000 and spent 12 years at GSK before moving to private practice to become managing director (patents) at Novagraaf UK. She loved the variety of private practice but missed being involved in commercial decision-making. This led to her current role at BAT which, she says, delivers both.