This interactive session dives into innovative equity compensation strategies for private and early-stage companies navigating rapid growth, market volatility, and evolving regulatory demands. Using real-world case studies, participants will explore practical solutions for designing high-impact equity programs that align with strategic goals while staying cost-efficient and operationally manageable.

Topics include creating effective equity purchase and performance share plans on limited budgets, leveraging data-driven tools such as 90-day VWAP and ESG-linked plans, managing liquidity and cap tables through growth to IPO, and optimizing operational efficiency with HRIS platforms and automation. 

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Learn how to create equity purchase and performance share plans that align with company goals, ESG targets, and growth objectives, even on limited budgets.
• Discover how to leverage HRIS platforms, third-party administrators, and automated processes to streamline plan administration and minimize complexity.
• Gain practical insights into navigating liquidity events, cap tables, carve-outs, and employee engagement while scaling plans from early-stage to IPO or group-wide programs.

Designing global performance awards is both an art and a science. From fluctuating foreign exchange rates to evolving disclosure requirements, creating effective performance-based equity programs requires careful calibration and technical precision. This deep-dive session explores the architecture of successful global performance awards, covering metric selection, peer benchmarking, multi-currency valuation, and alignment with local tax rules.

Ideal for professionals in plan design, accounting, or global mobility, attendees will gain actionable insights to elevate their performance equity programs from simply compliant to strategically cutting-edge.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Learn how to calibrate performance metrics and benchmark against peers to drive meaningful, measurable outcomes.
• Explore strategies for navigating FX fluctuations, multi-currency valuation, and local tax and compliance requirements.
• Gain practical approaches to transform your programs from compliant structures to innovative, workforce-engaging solutions.

ESPPs may share a name, but their design and impact can vary widely. In this lively, practical session, a panel of ESPP experts will guide you through three distinct plan designs, examining how each influences employee perception, participation rates, company expense, and dilution. Whether you’re launching a new plan or optimizing an existing one, you’ll leave with actionable strategies, creative ideas, and practical tips to make your ESPP successful.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Explore how different ESPP structures—from generous discounts to unique offering periods—affect employee participation and perception.
• Learn what motivates employees to take part in ESPPs and identify potential barriers to adoption.
• Discover strategies for designing plans that maximize employee value while maintaining financial sustainability for the company.

Executives face complex challenges in managing equity compensation, including navigating 10b5-1 plans, Rule 144, blackout windows, and liquidity planning. This session explores how plan administrators can leverage frameworks and best practices used by private wealth advisors to support executives holistically. Lucid Motors will share real-life experiences, highlighting practical applications of these strategies in a corporate setting. Participants will gain insights on aligning administrative operations with executive needs, optimizing equity as part of overall wealth, and supporting transitions, succession planning, and legacy considerations.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• Understanding 10b5-1 plans, Rule 144, and blackout windows, and how to support executives effectively.
• Leveraging private wealth management tools to align equity administration with executive goals.
• Strategies for managing executive equity from grant through succession, including liquidity and legacy planning.

Executive compensation is under increasing scrutiny from investors, proxy advisors, and governance stakeholders—particularly during annual general meetings. This panel brings together experienced practitioners to examine the evolving executive pay landscape, including shareholder activism, board dynamics, and rising expectations around transparency and accountability. 

The panel will share practical strategies for engaging boards and compensation committees, aligning equity programs with performance and ESG priorities, and preparing for activist challenges. Attendees will leave with actionable insights to strengthen governance practices and confidently navigate investor and stakeholder expectations.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Identify key trends shaping executive compensation, including investor priorities, proxy advisor influence, and emerging regulatory expectations.
• Learn practical approaches for partnering with boards and compensation committees to design equity programs that align with performance goals and governance standards.
• Gain strategies to anticipate, respond to, and manage shareholder activism—particularly in the AGM context—while maintaining credibility and trust.

As companies expand share plans globally, securing corporate tax deductions has become increasingly complex—and increasingly scrutinized. This session focuses on the critical intersection between equity compensation and corporate tax, equipping share plan professionals with the insights they need to effectively partner with internal tax teams to drive tax efficiency and avoid costly missteps.

The discussion will compare approaches across the US, UK, France, and Germany, highlighting where rules align and where they diverge. A dedicated segment will address the latest HMRC position on net-settled awards, including practical arguments and defense strategies when corporate tax deductions are challenged. Drawing on real-world experience, the session will provide actionable guidance for navigating this high-risk, high-impact area of global equity.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• How corporate tax deduction rules differ across key jurisdictions and why those differences matter.
• How to collaborate effectively with corporate tax teams to maximize tax efficiency in global share plans.
• How to navigate HMRC scrutiny of net-settled awards and prepare defensible corporate tax positions.

This session examines key findings from the Global Equity Insights Survey 2025 (GEIS 2025) related to equity compensation in private companies. It explores how these companies design and administer equity plans, addressing unique challenges such as valuation complexities, funding stages, and ownership structures.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Understand how private firms determine equity value using methods like Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and Comparable Company Analysis (CCA), crucial for setting fair strike prices and managing long-term incentives.
• Learn how private companies adapt their equity compensation strategies through various financing rounds and in preparation for potential IPOs, balancing employee incentives with investor interests.
• Explore common equity compensation structures, vesting schedules, and administrative practices used by private companies to attract, motivate, and retain key talent while managing ownership dilution.

Global equity professionals know that offering equity compensation isn’t one-size-fits-all. This session will present data insights from top locations—India, China, the UK, Canada, Germany, and the US—comparing employee perceptions with the ease of offering equity, as ranked by GEO’s Global Share Plan Ranking report.

Surprisingly, regions where equity is easiest to offer often see lower employee appreciation, while more challenging regions may show higher engagement.

This session will explore where employees need more support, how they prefer to receive it, and how to prioritise jurisdictions based on perceptions and regulatory obstacles.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Understand employee perceptions and attitudes toward equity compensation across key jurisdictions.
• Explore how regulatory ease or complexity impacts employee engagement with equity plans.
• Gain insights into how to tailor support and communication strategies based on jurisdictional priorities and employee needs.

From Czechia to Chile, this session will explore the complexities of global equity compensation, focusing on the challenges and opportunities companies face when designing and managing plans across multiple regions. Experts will provide insights into tax, legal, and regulatory considerations in key markets, including the US, UK, and Europe. 

Attendees will also learn how to align their equity strategies with cultural factors and evolving global compliance requirements.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Understand the tax, legal, and regulatory requirements for equity plans in key international markets.
• Learn how to address cultural influences on plan adoption and participation.
• Explore strategies for maintaining global compliance while adapting to regional requirements.

In today’s interconnected world, companies are increasingly implementing global equity compensation strategies that foster trust, shared ownership, and accountability across their entire workforce. Striking the right balance between a uniform global approach and tailored region-specific strategies is key to achieving the best outcomes, especially in uncertain times. 

This session will explore how broad-based employee share ownership programs can drive mutual alignment and business success on a global scale.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Understanding how to balance uniform equity plans with tailored approaches that account for regional differences in tax, regulation, and compensation expectations.
• Weighing the pros and cons of offering the same equity plans for all employees versus customized strategies based on geography, role, or market conditions.
• Learning from companies that have successfully implemented broad-based equity globally, and how they strategically use equity for retention, special-purpose awards, and stock purchase programs.