GEO AWARD WINNERS

WiseTech Global’s outstanding employee share plan has WiseTech's commitment to aligning its remuneration strategy with its mission to attract, retain, and motivate top talent while fostering a culture of ownership and value creation.

The program offers a comprehensive suite of equity-based incentives, including annual remuneration equity, performance bonuses, and participation in the Invest As You Earn (IAYE) program. These initiatives aim to not only reward current performance but also encourage long-term loyalty and accountability among employees.

Key objectives of WiseTech's share plan include talent attraction and retention, fostering a value-creation mindset, and promoting a culture of ownership. These goals are measured through various performance indicators, demonstrating tangible results such as increased team size, reduced turnover rates, and heightened engagement at annual general meetings.

The judges commended WiseTech's clear goals and measurable outcomes, recognizing its efforts to tie equity remuneration to corporate objectives. While acknowledging the positive results, they suggested deeper analysis into the correlation between plan uptake and business outcomes for future evaluations.

The Amadeus Equity Value Plan is a highly innovative and effective share plan that has achieved impressive success in motivating and rewarding top-performing managers. The plan is designed to foster a high-performance culture, create a culture of recognition, give employees flexibility, and foster alignment with the company.

One of the key features of the plan is its flexibility. Eligible managers can choose to receive all-cash bonuses or a split between cash and equity and can also choose the percentage of their total bonus they want to receive in equity. This provides employees with more flexibility to adapt their compensation package to their personal needs and circumstances.

The plan. which is offered globally across 29 countries and 46 legal entities, has been highly successful, with impressive participation rates and strong results across a range of performance metrics. For example, the attrition rate among plan participants is very low, indicating that the plan is highly valued by employees and helping to retain key talent. The participation rate is also impressive, with over 50% of eligible managers participating in the program.

The judges were highly impressed by the plan, noting its mix-and-match approach, its ability to identify and reward top performers, its innovative design, and its close relationship with company performance. They were also impressed by the calculator feature, which helps managers choose the best reward package for their needs, and the plan's simplicity and clarity.

LEO Pharma's Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP) has achieved great success in incentivizing employees, driving company growth, and promoting alignment towards becoming a publicly traded entity. Launched in 2021, the program aimed to encourage employee participation and provide a simple and attractive process for all employees. The plan involved a monthly deduction of 3% of an employee's annual gross salary, with the accumulated funds converted into shares at the end of each quarter. LEO Pharma also pledged to award free shares to participants, with 50% top-ups allocated in two rounds.

Despite navigating different rules and laws in various countries, the program achieved an impressive participation rate of over 43%. Denmark and Brazil led the way with a remarkable 70% and 71% participation rate, respectively. The success of the program was attributed to LEO Pharma's pre-launch strategy, which involved consulting with employees on the plan design and ensuring that they were informed about the proposed plan.

The judges commend LEO Pharma's ESPP for its success in incentivizing employee participation, driving company growth, and promoting alignment towards becoming a publicly traded entity. By involving employees at every step in the process and ensuring that they were informed about the proposed plan, LEO Pharma achieved a high participation rate and ensured the success of their program. The judges believe that LEO Pharma's commitment to promoting employee ownership is admirable and sets an excellent example for other companies.

The Trade Desk maintains a strong commitment to employee ownership as they transition from post-IPO to a more mature company. The company’s ESPP is offered in 20 countries and as a qualified Section 423 plan in the US. Designed to be as generous as possible, the plan has a new two-year offering period starting every six months and includes a rollover provision that resets the offering period if the share price on the purchase date is lower than the offering price.

The plan's success is measured based on participation rates, and the percentage of participants who hold shares after the six-month holding period ends. The ESPP has an overall participation rate of 91%, including new hires. 90% of eligible U.S. employees and 92% of eligible employees in the other 19 countries participate in the plan. In the current offering period, approximately 95% of employees are enrolled. The plan has delivered 1.2 million shares to employees in 2022, and employees held 95% of the shares purchased in May 2022 past the end of the November 2022 trading window.

Furthermore, employees hold more than 8 million sellable shares, more than 3 million of which were purchased through the ESPP. Approximately 81% of the company's 2,700 employees hold sellable shares acquired through its equity programs, and almost 50% own 1,000 or more sellable shares. These impressive figures demonstrate that the company has achieved its goal of employee ownership.

The judges were impressed by the clear, well-defined and measured goals, the engagement of employees despite the complexity of the plan’s features, and the newsletter with embedded videos.