I’m an equity professional with an authentic enthusiasm to drive meaningful results to my team and larger organization. With a proven track record as a cross-functional contributor, I am continually energized by opportunities to collaborate, find strategic solutions to challenging situations, and develop from those around me. Specialties: Equity Edge Online, EquiView, Section 16 Filing, 10b5-1 Plans, SOX Compliance, ESPP Management, ADP, Bamboo HR, Workday, SAP, Kronos, AP/AR, Commission Reconciliation, Union/Non-Union Employee Relations, HR Employment Recordkeeping & Documentation.

Andrea Kagan is Senior Project Manager, Stock Administration with NVIDIA Corporation and is based in the Bay Area. Andrea has close to than twenty five years of experience working with multi-jurisdictional tax issues facing internationally mobile employees and has specialized in equity compensation for the past twenty years, with a focus in recent years on implementing and leveraging technology solutions. Andrea has experience in the share plan industry from multiple perspectives. She has worked at stock issuer companies as part of the stock administration team; at a share plan administrator leading the tax and cross-border workstream for their proprietary information database; and at several of the Big 4 Accounting Firms consulting with companies to help manage employer and employee compliance obligations and cross-jurisdictional issues for equity awards. Andrea was fortunate enough to have worked in England for 3 years, resulting in a unique understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing mobile employees. She has published articles in both the US and the UK and is a frequent speaker at local and national industry conferences. Andrea is a Certified Equity Professional (CEP), IRS Enrolled Agent, and is a member of NASPP, and GEO.

Carrie Kovac is the Head of Global Equity Programs for Elastic. She previously served as an Executive Director of Corporate and Participant Solutions for Morgan Stanley. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, she was the Senior Vice President of Relationship Management for E*TRADE Financial Corporate Services and Director of Global Equity for Symantec Corporation. Carrie is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive), a Certified Equity Professional, and previously held her FINRA Series 7, 24 and 63 securities licenses. She received her Bachelor of Science in Commerce in Accounting degree from Santa Clara University. She is also a member of GEO, NASPP and AICPA. She previously served as a board member for GEO and currently serves on the Northern California GEO Chapter Committee.

Elizabeth is the principal and founder of Equity Plan Solutions, LLC (EPS), providing equity compensation consulting services to companies from startups to large public corporations. Previously, Elizabeth was a Vice President for Stock & Option Solutions, Inc. where she led the Professional Services team. Prior to SOS she held product management roles in stock plan services at BNY Mellon and ETRADE Corporate Services. She started EPS at the beginning of 2016 and has been in equity compensation since 1998. Elizabeth became a Certified Equity Professional in 1999 and co-authors the chapter on accounting in The Stock Option Book. She was honored with the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP) Individual Achievement award in 2012 and the NASPP 10-year service award in 2017.

Jesus is a senior manager in the Equity Business Solutions and Technology group, specializing in software development and equity compensation. Since 2015, he has been involved in equity compensation operations, accounting, and software quality assurance.

Jesus has extensive experience in various equity compensation instruments including options, restricted stock, performance, and employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs). He has worked in software development teams in both Scrum Master and quality assurance roles and has experience in, SQL, Selenium, and C#. Before joining the firm, he worked for an equity compensation software solutions company in California.

Jesus earned his Certified Equity Professional (CEP) designation in 2017 and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Data Analytics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, with an expected completion in 2026.

Jorge Martin is the Head of Workplace Solutions for North America at J.P. Morgan Workplace Solutions (formerly Global Shares). Prior to joining J.P Morgan, he served as the CEO of Certent, a U.S.-based provider of software and services for equity compensation and financial disclosure management, which was acquired by insightsoftware in 2021.

Jorge spent 11 years at E*TRADE Financial, where he held leadership roles in shared services and client management, covering areas such as product, professional services, QA, learning and development, relationship management, sales, and marketing. Earlier in his career, he held leadership positions at tech firms Avolent and Netscape.

Jorge earned a BA in Business/Managerial Economics from the University of California and an MBA in Finance from the University of California, Davis.

Lori is Director, Stock Administration at ServiceTitan, a cloud-based field service management software designed to help trade businesses streamline operations, manage customers, and increase profitability. At ServiceTitan, Lori manages Equity compensation, including plan design, new plan rollout, equity strategy, employee education, and communications.

She has over 36 years of experience in the Equity field, having managed the global equity departments at various Silicon Valley corporations, including Intuitive Surgical. In 1993, Lori was one of the first 18 individuals to obtain a CEP designation from Santa Clara University and has since been a key member of seven IPOs, three stock splits, and numerous mergers and acquisitions.

During Lori's tenure in the equity field, she has designed and implemented several successful, cutting-edge equity benefits, including an international Equity Mix Election (choice program) and a Cadillac ESPP with Cashless Participation (the 'Bugatti ESPP').

She is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and enjoys sharing her knowledge and experiences with her peers.

Lori is an active member of GEO and NASPP.

Marlene Zobayan is a partner at Rutlen Associates LLC. She has over thirty years of international tax and benefits experience including global equity plans, mobile employee taxation, global compensation and benefits. Her clients range from start-ups to Fortune 10 companies. She provides a range of services including remote work policy, mobile employee policy, global equity plan design, mobility compliance, compliance reviews, assistance with local approvals and filings, communications, employer tax compliance advice and designing administrative processes; she is known for her expertise with mobile employee issues.

Marlene has a Physics degree from Oxford University; she was a member of the U.K. Association of Tax Technicians when she practiced in the U.K. Marlene is a U.S. Enrolled Agent, and a Certified Equity Professional (“CEP”). She is a regular speaker and author on global stock plan, mobility and remote work issues; edits the Global Equity GPS book and authored the chapter on State Mobility in the Selected Issues For Equity Compensation book. Marlene is currently a member of the Curriculum Committee for Certified Equity Professional Institute (CEPI) at the Leavey Executive Center of Santa Clara University.

Sam has been working in equity compensation for 9 years and has experience working on both the service provider (Fidelity and E*trade) and issuer side (Lyft) of equity plans. Sam began working at Lyft in 2019 and has focused on creating efficiencies in current processes. Some of his recent projects include implementation of a new payroll system, automation of ESPP enrollment and changes, automation of mobility and equity tax withholding, and Federal equity tax elections.

Tara is an Associate Partner in Aon’s Equity Services practice with nearly 30 years of tax consulting experience, including more than a decade focused on global equity strategy, compliance, and administration. She advises public and private companies at all stages of growth—from emerging startups and pre‑IPO companies to mature multinational enterprises—on the design, implementation, and operation of equity compensation programs. Her work spans domestic and international payroll, global mobility, equity administration, and the complex tax and compliance issues that arise through IPOs, private‑to‑public transitions, mergers and acquisitions, and other major corporate events. Tara is also known for helping organizations enhance employee education and communication around equity compensation to improve understanding, engagement, and perceived value of these programs.

Tara holds a B.S. in Economics from Rutgers University and an MBA in Accounting Management. She is a California‑licensed CPA, an Equity Compensation Associate, and a Fellow of Global Equity. Tara serves on the Global Equity Organization Board of Directors, where she is also a chapter leader in Northern California, and sits on the Advisory Board of Grant’d. She was recognized with the GEO Star Award in 2021 and is a frequent speaker on equity and tax topics at industry conferences and events.

Veena Bhatia is currently Head of Global Stock Administration at Atlassian Corporation. Veena has extensive knowledge of world-wide regulatory, legal and tax environments for equity plans in over 35 countries. Her experience includes developing effective employee communications and education materials; Sarbanes-Oxley compliance; managing broad-based 10b5-1 trading plans; and mergers and acquisitions. After transitioning to equity compensation from a former career as a hardware engineer, Veena has enjoyed using her technical skills to improve processes for scalability and efficiency in order to manage rapid growth.

Prior to Atlassian, Veena held equity compensation roles at Gilead Sciences, Stock & Option Solutions and Cisco Systems.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University, her CEP designation, and is a certified project manager. She has been a frequent guest speaker at industry events.

In her free time, Veena enjoys traveling to new and interesting destinations and trying local foods and wines.

Sonia Guillory is an accomplished equity and stock administration leader with over 20 years of experience managing equity compensation programs for leading technology companies. Based in Palo Alto, California, she currently serves as a Senior Director of Stock Administration, where she oversees complex, global equity initiatives and drives program effectiveness at scale.

Throughout her career, Sonia has held progressive leadership roles across organizations including Coinbase, Palo Alto Networks, Blue Coat Systems, E*TRADE, and Landec Corporation. She is recognized for building and optimizing equity programs that support rapid growth, ensure compliance, and enhance the employee experience.

Sonia holds the Certified Equity Professional (CEP) designation from Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business. She is known for her strategic insight, operational excellence, and deep expertise in equity compensation and stock plan administration.

Ali is a trusted advisor to companies, management teams, venture capital, boards of directors, and compensation committees on executive compensation and benefits issues arising in every stage of the corporate life cycle - ranging from emerging growth to blue-chip public. She also counsels companies through transformative events, such as mergers & acquisitions, initial public offerings (IPOs), venture capital and leveraged buyout transactions, spinoffs, restructurings, and other transformative corporate events. With more than two decades of practice experience spanning many industries, her current practice focuses on cutting-edge technology and life sciences companies of all sizes, as well as clients within the private equity and real estate investment trust (REIT) sectors.