1-Sylke

C. Thomas Sylke
Wisconsin State Director

A Wisconsin native, Tom Sylke is a multidisciplinary attorney and former state government official who has worked and advised organizations worldwide in a wide range of technologies, including digital communications, security, wireless technologies, power systems, and connected/IoT applications. Tom currently serves as general counsel to and a co-owner of a technology start-up in the field of engine power generation.

From 2011-2018 Tom served on the board of directors of the State of Wisconsin’s jobs and economic development agency, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). He previously practiced intellectual property law in Silicon Valley and Wisconsin in patent procurement, development, licensing, clearances, and enforcement, primarily involving technologies related to electrical engineering, physics and applied mathematics, as well as working in other intellectual property fields serving clients in the United States and Europe.

Tom holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics, (Electrical) Engineering & Physics and a J.D. law degree, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Tom also attended the United States Air Force Academy as a cadet. He has served since 2017 as chairman of the advisory board of the Grainger Institute for Engineering at the UW-Madison College of Engineering. Tom also was a public member of the Wisconsin Joint Legislative Council Special Committee on the University of Wisconsin and State Economic Development.