Key considerations for any company in development of their employee share programs include the perspectives of the various stakeholders in the process – a well-designed program is one that contemplates not only the needs of the employees but includes consideration of the needs of the company’s investors, partners and also the overall public opinion. Join GEO’s 14th Annual International Conference inaugural keynote to hear how the Munich-headquartered powerhouse Siemens AG, a company committed to employee share ownership, and Deutsche Bank have addressed the competing priorities of the various stakeholder groups in the development of their employee share plans. This panel, moderated by Michael Kramarsch, Managing Partner at Hostettler, Kramarsch & Partner (hkp/// group), will include panelists Joe Kaeser, member of the Managing Board and CFO (Siemens AG) and Dr. Stephan Leithner, member of the Management Board (Deutsche Bank), who will share their perspective on what has driven Siemens and Deutsche Bank to develop a strong equity ownership culture. Key discussion topics will include short-term versus long-term orientation, areas of conflict for employees versus shareholders, as well as economic growth and shared success. Join us for this very special look into top management’s view on the use of global equity.

Drawing from their research on Europe and the United States that is the basis for the upcoming release of their new book, The Citizen's Share, Dr. Joseph Blasi and Dr. Richard Freeman will trace the development of policies to support broad-based equity in corporations in the United States and Europe and expand these ideas to the global economy. Relating their specific experiences, Drs. Blasi and Freeman will address the following questions: What actions can corporations take to meaningfully advance government global equity policies worldwide and in their home countries and on which ideas should these actions be based? While it is a well-accepted premise that when employees' interests are aligned with that of the business, performance improves on all fronts. This session will present the audience with evidence to this fact based upon concepts catalogued by America's founders. While their book argues that in today's world the political and economic vision of America’s founders calls for increased profit-sharing and employee share ownership of business capital, this session will expand that thinking and provide attendees a vision of what the latest research on broad-based equity plans teaches us and provide insight into where we go from here by contrasting the modes of creating equity in Europe and the United States.

This exciting keynote panel will lead the audience through a discussion on recent developments in Say on Pay activity, focusing particularly on recent and potential litigation in both Europe and the U.S. The audience will be encouraged to participate as we look beyond the goal of a positive vote on executive pay and look at some of the unintended consequences that can lead to potential legal action.‬‬

Companies invest an enormous amount of resources in their global employee share plans – this session will address the watershed question of whether or not the time and money dedicated to global share plans are really worth it. Our team of experts representing advisors and representatives from companies committed to global employee share ownership will take on the task of discussing the key reasons employers adopt share ownership plans, how these plans fit into their overall compensation strategy and how the strategy is altered for country-specific considerations. Lastly, the team will describe how they evaluate and measure success. As a bonus, in addition to the perspective offered by companies on their share plans, attendees will hear directly from a representative of the European Commission who will discuss two important points related to the current developments in employee stock plans – the European Parliament’s Pilot Project for the promotion of employee ownership and participation and the European Commission's Action Plan on European Company Law and Corporate Governance. For anyone involved in employee share plans, this is a session you cannot afford to miss!

Yvonne Prang, Senior Department Head, Human Resources, Compensation, Benefits & People Systems of McDonald's Deutschland Inc. and Simone Schmitt-Schillig, Managing Director of the communication agency Unequity GmbH, show how diverse C & B offers for employees can be portrayed in communication as one package.

A restricted stock vesting event presents a worldwide communications opportunity. Learn firsthand from two large, global companies how they leveraged this opportunity to educate and communicate to their participants about their restricted stock vesting events. Panelists will provide insight on what prompted these initiatives, how they went about doing them and what they have learned over the years. Attendees will also get the chance to hear from two other important parties—a tax consultant and a plan administrator—who work behind the scenes on initiatives such as these and who are instrumental in providing direction and guidance on how to support companies’ initiatives. Attend this session and learn about Amazon and Wells Fargo’s paths to success!

Employee communications for equity compensation can be challenging in the best of circumstances. Add to that language and culture differences with legally mandated regulations for communications and you have a cacophony of materials that can lead to participant bewilderment. The end result is participants don’t understand the value of the equity they have—or worse, they don’t realize the tax implications of their actions with certain types of equity. Take the first step to tackling the challenges you face with your global employee communications program by attending this session where panelists will share stories about how to tread the fine line between explaining the equity instrument, its value and the tax impact without providing tax advice or creating entitlement under labor laws.

Equity plan communication’s strategy decisions can be daunting, especially for plans which touch dramatically different participants across the globe. Often overwhelmed with options, companies default to a general, legal driven, “one size fits all” approach. However, intuition would tell us this may not be the best approach. Using data derived from the Siemens Equity Culture Survey, Siemens AG will present lessons learned from their study of the impact of locally customized communication campaigns. Drawing on data derived from an employee survey conducted prior to and following each communication campaign described in this session, this session will address the benefits and drawbacks of locally customized versus global communication campaigns, demonstrate how a successful communication mix can be designed and share key success factors to enhance any equity culture.

Engaging a global audience is tricky for any company. GlaxoSmithKlein has developed sophisticated and effective communication plans designed to engage and educate plan participants and ensure they fully appreciate and understand the value of their equity compensation. Hear from experts representing all sides of the “communication equation” as to how they were able to work together to achieve this tricky task. Also learn more about how to utilize innovative technology while keeping more traditional communication forms in the mix.

Identifying effective communication strategies that won’t break the “ever important” budget is challenging at best. And, if you’re not careful, you can end up spending too much money on communication strategies that may not produce results. Meet two industry experts who will share many time-tested ways to communicate effectively with plan participants that cost (almost) nothing and work for any size company. Join this session to learn how to minimize costs and maximize your communication outreach while addressing key issues such as data privacy and consent, acquired rights, cultural differences, tax challenges and much more. The panelists will also share survey data on communications practices across forty countries.

Due to recent changes in corporate governance regulations and a greater emphasis on pay-for-performance, executive pay design has become much more complex. This complexity is often an obstacle in driving company performance and can be demotivating to plan participants. In this session attendees will hear practical advice on how to identify and address unnecessary complexity in executive pay design and will learn how to design a plan that is well structured, understandable and clearly linked to strategic objectives.

As we continue to experience significant economic and competitive challenges globally, corporations continue to seek ways to increase the value of their reward programs relative to the costs incurred. Equity reward programs present a particular challenge because a gap often exists between the actual value, the perceived value attributed to it by a recipient, and the reported value represented for financial reporting purposes. We refer to this as the “Value Gap.” This gap can become quite apparent and challenging when companies first experience responses from executives about a new market-conditioned equity award—the complexities and ambiguities that often accompany this type of award can work to dramatically lower its perceived value. In this panel discussion, we’ll discuss the sources of this Value Gap as well as approaches that both consultants and companies might pursue to try to narrow the gaps between perceived, actual and reported values. The session is designed to create a more disciplined understanding of the sources of the Value Gap so that we can begin to address how to improve the effectiveness of our equity programs. The session also begins to identify possible avenues for proactively reducing the Value Gap where it is appropriate to do so.

While Europe may have been the epicenter of performance awards, this significant trend has spanned the globe. This is a new cornerstone of executive equity compensation, yet the migration has not been without challenges. The question, "What are these awards really worth" plagues companies as they balance recipient value versus financial statement expense. Design choices, complexity, and the unintended consequences complicate the matter and the complexities of a global plan amplify it. This panel addresses recent trends and changes in the use of performance shares along with case studies on effectively using stock price metrics, using the valuation of performance awards as an integral part of plan design, and understanding how sensitive the values are to the assumptions used. Attendees will also hear about potential "conflicts" between the financial statement expense and the perceived values for participants based on an understanding of behavioral economics and leave this session equipped to masterfully avoid pitfalls, and maximize the potential of performance awards.

This session will examine the thought processes, challenges and methodology of fostering and developing an equity compensation culture at two very different companies who have recently transitioned to publically traded ones. Yandex a Russian company trading on the NASDAQ and Amadeus, headquartered in Spain, have recently gone through an IPO. Both view equity compensation as a core element of their compensation mix and helping the company meet their stated objectives. Both companies are headquartered in countries where equity compensation is less widespread and common place than in the USA or Northern Europe, which brings a unique set of challenges in itself. Attendees will be treated to an inside look at equity compensation challenges in these two very unique environments and walk away with knowledge that any global company planning for an IPO can put into action immediately!

Ever wonder which is a better global share plan--RSU or share purchase plan? Both are valuable and important equity programs, but each has drawbacks. Find out what these are in this lively session where panelists will compare and contrast these two plans in every way.

Attendees to this session will be treated with an inside look at the new Linde AG Long-Term Incentive Plan. Follow the plan from inception, hear first-hand what design considerations were made and why, learn how the process was coordinated with administration to ensure a successful roll-out and get the behind the scenes details on the special web tool created for participants and Linde administrators. If your company is considering a new plan or even a plan makeover – this session is for you!

In line with the long tradition of Siemens’ equity culture, OSRAM adopted components of Siemens long-term incentives to establish an ownership-culture via share-based programs and strengthen a high performance culture. Designing and implementing share programs in light of a spin-off is challenging at best. This session will reveal how one company tackled this process head-on and successfully implemented a share program as a result of a spin-off. You never know when you might find yourself dealing with this situation – attend this session today and hear directly from the team that took on the spin-off and survived!

Many things need to happen to create an award winning share plan. In this session, hear what Smith & Nephew did to win the highly coveted award—Best International Share Scheme. Panelists will provide important details about the design of the Smith & Nephew plan, its objective and the innovative approach they used. Attendees will also hear the results Smith & Nephew saw through take up and overall employee engagement so you can judge for yourself the winning nature of this amazing plan!

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in flexible working arrangements offered by employers – arrangements spanning from a simple desire on the part of employees to achieve an appropriate “work/life” balance in the modern world to employers being legally required to consider flexible working applications. In this session, this global team of experts will consider some of the key points which companies will need to address in order to make sure that their equity incentive arrangements are as flexible as their working arrangements. If you have employees with flexible work arrangements, you cannot afford to miss this session! Come hear about the impact on share plans of maternity and paternity leave, unpaid leave, part-time working, consultancy arrangements and retirement and learn first-hand how companies have approached changes in modern working practices.

All-employee share plans, operated on a global basis, have long been considered an essential piece of the reward framework for major global businesses. In a provocative and challenging session, the team of expert panelists, who represent both a business and an academic perspective, will explore the fundamental “why?” question as it is applied to all-employee share plans and discuss the rationale for adopting such plans. Supported by feedback from clients as to why they consider such plans to be effective and valuable, this session will challenge accepted thinking and consider why it may be more effective to channel scarce resources in a different way.

ForFarmers is a non-listed, ambitious, international company that is committed to taking corporate sustainability to the next level. One major initiative toward this effort was to launch a ‘cooperative’ whereby ‘customers’ could convert to ‘members’ and implement a trading platform on which members can buy, sell and trade certificates of ForFarmers company shares. In 2010 the trading of the ForFarmers property rights was approved and in 2011, just one year later, the ForFarmers Internal Exchange Plan was selected by GEO Award judges as the Most Innovative and Creative Plan Design. Learn why this program was recognized as unique and creative and why this type of plan has the ability to set new standards for investing in privately held companies. Attendees to this session will leave understanding how to encourage member loyalty to and investment in a ‘cooperative’ and create liquidity in a non-listed company, how to implement an Internal Exchange program from a legal and tax perspective, how to creatively communicate and encourage participation and how to implement new technology to support unique programs (i.e. Internal Exchanges, Option Buy Backs, etc.). Come to this session - expand your creative thinking and step outside of the box!

Global companies whose securities are not registered in the US often feel constrained by the equity compensation programs they can offer to their US employees. Many companies offer phantom award programs settled in cash on a set date, which limits an employee’s ability to control and realize the full upside of an equity award and have that increase subject to preferential capital gain tax treatment. Cash-settled programs also leave the employer exposed to an open liability for an increase in share value, whereas traditional equity programs shift that liability to the market. Despite the challenges of not being listed in the US, there are many strategies, which can be deployed to ensure you can offer equity award and other share plans to your US employees, beyond phantom and other cash-settled awards. In this presentation learn the feasibility of offering stock based benefit and award programs in the US with unregistered shares, including Level I Depository Receipts. Attendees will gain some practical guidance and understand the considerations from a legal, administrative, issuer and sponsor perspective.

As the demand for stock programs tied to performance escalates, new market-based equity such as relative total shareholder return (TSR) and market stock unit (MSU) plans continue to emerge as the predominate way to promote performance and address shareholder criticism globally. Before you join the growing list of companies redesigning their equity plans to meet this objective, hear what our panelists have to say about the key design and governance considerations that you'll need to understand to implement your own successful TSR or MSU program. Specifically, during this session, panelists will define relative TSR and MSU plans, discuss the reasons for implementation, explore the different plan design and governance considerations around these plans, and finally discuss real-world examples of cutting edge nuances, such as capped payouts and risk-adjusted TSR calculations. Market conditions are the new wave, and this is your introductory swimming class!

Today's dynamic business and regulatory environment presents organizations of all sizes and across all sectors with common challenges and decisions in connection with their equity compensation programs, including whether to implement a global equity program for the first time, whether to continue using existing equity programs, or modify them to include different award vehicles, new features, an expanded employee base, and more. When you combine these challenges with the impact of corporate transactions, and continuously changing laws and regulations, the list of challenges can often be overwhelming. Come join panelists from Ernst & Young’s Global Equity Services practice who will share their observations and practical experiences in formulating solutions to address these common challenges and decision points.

In light of the increased worldwide media attention on executive pay, it is obvious that this topic is one of the most talked about issues currently and will continue to be in the “spotlight” for some time to come. This exciting session will tackle this lofty topic and provide first-hand insight into evolving shareholder views and the impact of increased government regulation. Starting with a focus on the UK executive pay environment and then expanding the discussion to the broader European and US perspective, this expert team of panelists will share their thoughts on how this changing executive compensation landscape may affect the future of executive pay, share innovative incentive plan design ideas which are evolving to fit this new environment and offer practical insights on how these ideas might be implemented in a global business.

Increasingly, compensation professionals are faced with a myriad of decisions concerning what types of awards to grant, in which countries to make awards and to whom awards should be offered. These decisions are influenced by complex and fast changing regulatory requirements, competitive labor markets and company-wide objectives. The session will examine the role of various stakeholders involved in the decision making process, explore what information companies use to make decisions, and discuss who the decision makers confer with to make decisions. Attendees to this session will be treated to insights from senior decision makers with extensive experience with global equity compensation who will share their experiences regarding how companies successfully navigate the often murky waters of global equity compensation.

Equity compensation is a crucial method to attract and retain a talented workforce. But these awards still have an underlying cost to the company, and in this economic environment, minimizing costs is also a priority. How can we stay balanced? Join this expert panel as they “walk the tightrope” to show attendees best practices, including analyzing the current and new methods, employed by companies to balance expenses without sacrificing perceived values. The panel will cover a number of different equity instruments from RSUs to performance awards to stock options to ESPP, with some basic and perhaps also some creative ways to lower the cost of granting equity. A real balancing act!

Join this session for a focus on the equity compensation culture in the DACH region. Attendees will gain an understanding of the equity use in this area supplemented by survey results from the FAZ survey. The discussion will also include a case study of equity use at Schindler, a Swiss-based international operating company with more than 45,000 employees in 78 countries which has grown from a family owned traditional managed company to a globally operating and internationally managed company. The evolution in the last decade had a significant impact on their equity compensation culture and will also have it in the near future. Join this session to learn about equity challenges in the DACH region and the journey of Schindler’s equity plans and their change from a Swiss traditional equity compensation culture to an internationally designed plan.

Want to know what the most prevalent equity-based plan designs are across the world's most important economic regions? Come find out as panelists from Siemens, hkp/// group and GEO discuss the trends and hot topics identified from GEO’s 2013 Global Equity Insights Survey. In addition to identifying the top issues, panelists will offer solutions to overcoming some of these issues. Come listen and ask questions about today's hot-button global issues as identified from this important survey.

Royal Dutch Shell ("Shell") offers a number of employee share-based plans globally. Working with its third-party service providers, Shell created a global nominee product called the Vested Share Account—a program offering participants the ability to retain, sell or transfer shares at their leisure without having to make snap decisions at vesting points. This service offering, available to individuals in over 90 countries, radically changed the concept of share ownership for Shell participants who live outside of the country where the shares are listed or where there is no concept of issuing a share certificate. Join this session and hear why offering this type of service didn’t come easy, but has proven successful in increasing employee share ownership and retention around the world.

Have you stopped to consider what you are doing with your stock programs and why you’re doing them? It's all too easy to spend valuable time putting out fires and not taking the time to look at how those fires can be prevented. In the presentation, Barclays Group HR, supported by Barclays Global Stock & Reward Services, will share lessons learned from their recent comprehensive process review and also highlight—not only the improvements for participants—but also the time and cost savings to the business, gained not from cutting services, but from delivering more with less effort.

Automating withholding and reporting processes for mobile equity plan participants is no longer a plus; it’s a must! In an environment where employees are frequently on the move, automated processes for tax withholding and corporate payroll reporting is critical to the integrity of the program, among other things. Don’t be a victim to manual processes for managing your plans. Hear from panelists who can help you achieve improved compliance, accuracy and automation with your global mobility programs. Come to this session and walk away with tangible “best in class” examples of innovative processes you can leverage.

Corporate transactions come in all shapes and sizes; some with a minimal impact to a global equity program, others with a significant impact to them. Fueled by a recent uptick in corporate transactions, panelists from Covidien, ING, Halliburton and Orrick will offer a roadmap to the key practical issues, compliance requirements and general best practices for any equity compensation professional managing a global equity program in the context of a business transaction. Gain a better understanding of the key decision points--for both US and non-US issues--to survive a corporate transaction of your own.

In a time where new legislation is frequently introduced that impacts stock plan data, solid, accurate data flow in and out of share plan administration solutions is a must. Stakeholders from finance, legal, payroll and HR depend on this and audit compliance, financial reporting and regulatory reporting are all at risk without it. Given this, is it time to consider a centralized share plan data approach? In this presentation the panel will offer insights gleaned from their recent evaluation of a centralized data approach and will discuss the benefits and drawbacks as well as key points to consider when deciding on a centralized versus a compartmentalized or ‘bespoked’ approach.

Global Employee Share Plans offered to large participant populations spanning over multiple cultures, educational backgrounds, regions and countries are common, but when examined closely, it becomes quickly obvious that these plans can vary dramatically. Companies are often faced with challenges in communicating and managing their programs and as a result use very different plan designs in order to meet their objectives. Plan features can run the gambit - from call options, annual purchases and interest bearing cash accounts to matching share plans with additional free shares to incentivize employees, the features sometimes seem limitless. In this presentation Nokia and Morgan Stanley will share and contrast their experiences with their programs related to plan design, implementation, communications, and on-going management of global ESPP plans.

In today’s landscape of ever changing regulation and increasing complexity, it is easy for efficient, well-designed share plans to become lost behind a mountain of “customized” solutions. Manual data fixes and bespoke processes have become standard operating procedure by way of necessity. How do we reduce these manual, work intensive processes and initiate more simplified and automated solutions that meet the needs of global stakeholders? Find out in this panel discussion where speakers will focus on two different paths taken by large multi-national issuers to reduce manual processes and excess work that create inefficiencies in managing equity plans.

This session will describe key elements of the Syngenta 2012-2013 rollout of an ESPP to more than 3,400 employees in 24 countries. In particular, it will focus on practical learning from different phases of the project—from feasibility, legal filings, and technical solutions to communications and more. Hear some of the practical approaches chosen, such as the decision to only implement the plan where there are no onerous filing requirements and only translate documents where required or where there are more than 10 employees. Also learn more about the relationship between Syngenta and its external partners, KPMG and UBS, related to the success of this program.

Equity withholding calculations prepared internally or by a service provider is typically the first step in what may be a long and arduous process involving the communication of information to multiple stakeholders and international funds transfers. In this session, panelists will highlight the diversity in this process by exploring the ways in which three multinational companies approach communications, withholding funds management, mobility tracking, and mobility tax policy.

Managing payroll and reporting obligations for employees located around the world presents a variety of challenges as local practices vary significantly from country-to-country. Currency differences, varying skill sets, different work weeks, additional pay cycles, data privacy, HRIS interfaces, and plan complexity are just a few of the obstacles. Learn more about these challenges and related best practices for managing payroll for an international stock plan in this practical session which will prepare you to face these common as well as some not-so common obstacles in global equity payroll and reporting

This session describes Daimler's approach to ensuring worldwide payroll compliance of its share-based compensation (Stock Options and Performance Phantom Shares). Daimler has been offering share-based incentive programs to its management in more than 60 countries since 1996, making Daimler one of the German pioneer companies in this area. Attendees to this session will hear about the evolution of equity incentive schemes at Daimler, the special payout and taxation process applying to multi-country participants and Daimler's global payroll solution. Don't miss this exciting look into share-based programs at Daimler!

Every company needs to know that their investments—including their equity programs—are paying off. While the ROI of an equity program may not be as easy to assess compared to other investments, it should be measured. Discover how to go about determining whether your company's equity programs are “paying “off” in this interactive session where panelists will navigate the various steps and approaches you can take to go about doing an ROI for your own equity program. Panelists will also share data on how many companies are calculating their equity program ROI and how they are going about doing so. Attend this session and learn what you can do to ensure that the value of your equity programs is never in question!

Facebook set a new standard for managing global stock plan administration and compliance challenges associated with their RSU and stock option programs upon their IPO. This session will look at the innovative solutions they put in place as a result of their IPO and how they leveraged their tax, legal, consulting and payroll providers to effectively address important components of their plan, including managing risk and compliance with employee satisfaction and implementing a global net-share settlement and banded tax withholding system.

In the face of increased scrutiny and risks for conducting business operations in a manner that meets ever changing internal and external legal, regulatory, governance and tax requirements, multinational companies are being forced to address complex, diverse and risky issues that are raised when granting equity around the world—all while working with smaller budgets, fewer resources and greater expectations for "getting it right." As a result, the need for "granting smartly" has never been more important. This session will focus on smart measures and approaches that companies can easily adopt and implement to ensure that their stock plans are established, operated and maintained in accordance with the various legal, regulatory and tax obligations arising from country-to-country where awards are granted.

Costs can be sneaky, hiding in the tiniest of cracks to slip out to surprise the unsuspecting. And global employee stock plans can be complex enough if offered in a multitude of jurisdictions. But, with a little thinking ahead, companies can anticipate the costs of global compliance before rolling out a new plan and on an ongoing basis. Hear from two issuers and two outside providers regarding their tips and real life stories companies should know to get on top of global compliance costs. This session will equip you to consider whether your company is spending their global compliance costs wisely. Do you ever wonder if you are armed with the right information to make decisions balancing cost and compliance? Are your highest risk areas covered? Is your approach different than approaches taken by other companies justified? Leave this session with answers to these questions – and many more!

The world’s most remarkable places are often the most active with respect to equity compensation securities and employment law changes, exchange control updates, tax requirements, remuneration regulations, translation requirements and so on. In this session, explore the areas of the world currently considered hot spots in these and other areas, and learn practical solutions for managing the numerous and significant developments in these highly active areas.

This presentation examines tax-qualified regimes for share-based awards in France, Ireland, Israel, the UK and the US. Our panel of experts will discuss the advantages offered by these tax qualified programs for issuers and for employees and offer insights into what factors companies take—or should take—into consideration when deciding to put a tax-qualified program in place in a particular country. This session will outline the tax and legal requirements in the respective countries, show participants how to incorporate these requirements into a company’s existing equity program and also describe the practical challenges of fitting all of these unique requirements into a global equity program from the company perspective. Attendees to this session will leave armed with practical advice from all panelists on how to maintain the tax-qualified status of these regimes once they have been implemented.

Everything you need to know about current legal and administrative challenges impacting stock awards around the globe, from securities, currency exchange, and labor laws applicable to stock plans, as well as cultural factors, will be uncovered in this timely and practical session. With a focus on countries such as Argentina, China, France, Germany, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, and other less-traveled countries, experienced experts will share their recommendations for how to navigate through the issues covered in this session, what the potential issues on the horizon are and how companies are preparing for them.

How is your company approaching the opportunity to obtain local corporate tax deductions for non-headquarter-based employees and mobile participants? Are you leaving money on the table? This session will identify the benefits to the parent and local entities, as well as the downstream impacts of implementing a global methodology to secure local corporate deductions for non-headquarter based and globally mobile participants. Panelists will review the tax and financial considerations associated with taking corporate tax deductions as well as implementation considerations and discuss how companies’ approaches to securing corporate deductions have evolved and continue to do so.

The ABCs of Global Share Plan Compliance is an ambitious session covering the top compliance issues—from regulatory laws to securities filings—that global share plan practitioners need to be aware of. Panelists in this session will describe the many challenges that arise with compliance in these areas from the perspectives of an issuer and service provider. This team of experienced panelists will review the processes, disciplines and tools required to make informed compliance decisions, evaluate the required tasks from a cost versus benefit perspective and structure your programs to maximize compliance in a cost effective manner.

Global business trends and economic crises have fueled numerous legislative and regulatory changes affecting equity awards around the globe. Other recent developments—some favorable and others unfavorable—appear to be the result of increased governmental familiarity with equity awards. In recent months, there have been several key developments in the taxation of equity plans in Belgium, Israel, Switzerland and the U.K. There have also been a number of significant securities law and exchange control developments in countries like Argentina, Australia, China, Italy and Turkey. Some of these changes pose new challenges for issuing companies while other changes are favorable and can simplify administration and reduce plan costs for informed issuers. This presentation will provide a comprehensive discussion of key tax and legal developments around the world and will provide practical guidance for addressing unfavorable changes and for taking advantage of beneficial changes.

In this session a team of experts will provide practical examples of plan governance gone awry and draw out key lessons for employers in this area. This session will focus on discrimination laws and the implications they can have for exercises of discretion and other forms of decision making by employers in the operation of their plans. Addressing two key protected characteristics - age and gender - in two key European countries - Germany and the UK - the team will illustrate how their laws and practices differ, and outline the practical impact of the differences, as well as discuss the administrative implications including best practices from the trustee perspective.

Compliance for global employee share plans has stayed at the top of the agenda for most companies in the past few years. With the financial crisis, many countries are looking at maximizing revenue (i) by increasing tax rates or changing some favored tax regimes and (ii) by increasing their level of scrutiny to ensure all taxes are collected. In the meantime, securities laws remain an issue, particularly for non-EU companies extending arrangements into Europe. This session will review recent developments impacting the implementation and operation of employee share plans around the world, with a particular focus on the new tax regime in France, changes in practice in China, the new reporting requirements in Japan and the application of the European Union Prospectus Directive. To round out the experience, panelists will summarize the technical points that a share plan practitioner needs to be aware of, giving a practical twist on what this means in “real” life. If your company has equity “around the world” this is where you need to be!

The UK coalition government is making significant changes to how remuneration policy is being described and will be giving a binding vote on future policy to shareholders. As a result, remuneration committees, consultants and other advisers will all have new related challenges. This session will look at the potential impact of these changes to share-based pay from the perspectives of both a compensation consultant to the remuneration committee and a legal adviser to the committee. Gain an understanding of how the future use of shares for remuneration purposes may be impacted in this critical session.

Companies everywhere are continuing to make variable pay, such as deferred bonus payments and share awards, subject to clawback provisions. However, clawbacks raise a number of difficult issues, including whether they are even enforceable. Each country has different rules related to this which makes it challenging—in a global context—to have a consistent approach. In this session, panelists will discuss clawbacks in a global context, what the issues are and how they can be dealt with easily and cost effectively.

Even after you’ve secured SAFE approval in China for your equity programs, you may not be completely safe from SAFE. Here to offer valuable tips on the requirements, considerations and issues arising after a company secures SAFE approval are industry experts from Baker & McKenzie, Amazon and Oracle. With a special emphasis on the ongoing reporting requirements to the approving SAFE bureau and issues associated with the repatriation of funds, panelists will offer ways to streamline their applications, navigate negotiations with SAFE and stay on top of ongoing requirements. Haven’t secured SAFE approval yet? Our team of experts will also review standard requirements for seeking SAFE approval and describe the unique challenges of seeking approval for several plans through multiple brokers and the inclusion of non-PRC national employees in the application. No matter where you are in the SAFE process, this session should be at the top of your list.

With governments all over the world facing budget crises, their attention has increasingly shifted to ensuring that taxpayers properly report and pay taxes related to their offshore assets to fill the revenue gap. New reporting requirements have also emerged in a number of countries, including India, Israel, Japan, Spain and the United States (FATCA). Equity and cash-based incentive awards granted to employees, directors and consultants often fall within the scope of offshore assets that must be reported. Given the unique nature of incentive awards (i.e., rights subject to time and/or performance vesting and exercise restrictions, mobile employees transferring between grant and settlement, shares held by broker, transfer agent or trustee), reporting foreign assets can be challenging and companies offering such rights need to consider whether and how to assist grantees with these reporting obligations. With most amnesty and penalty reduction programs coming to a close, it is imperative that your plan participants are “in the know” on these very important requirements. Come to this session and get all you need to help your plan participants get their foreign asset reporting obligations in order!