John Hammond is an Associate Partner with Aon Human Capital Solutions leading the Communications Practice which focuses primarily on video and print material creation and employee education in the equity and broader compensation space. John was the founder and CEO of bendystraw llc which Aon acquired in 2017. John has been compensation and benefits focused since 1999, originally beginning with Great Lakes Strategies, and then with several other equity administration providers until forming bendystraw in 2014. Prior to joining the equity plan industry, John was a financial planner and advisor for 10 years.

John has a long and active history as a GEO member including attending the 1st Annual conference in Orlando in 2000. John has been a speaker at a variety of GEO events, including events on three different continents, as well as other industry meetings and conferences on a wide range of issues surrounding equity compensation, communication, administration, and reporting requirements. John earned his Certified Equity Professional (CEP) designation in 2000 and served on the CEP Advisory Board from 2010 – 2017 and chaired the board from 2013 – 2014. John became a GEO Fellow with the 2019 GEO Fellows.

Deidre is a Managing Director at Infinite Equity, specializing in valuation, accounting, and plan design for her clients. Deidre has over fourteen years of compensation and benefits experience. Prior to joining Infinite Equity, Deidre held positions at two large consulting firms, most recently focusing on equity compensation solutions and previously retirement plan benefits. Deidre earned a Bachelor of Art in Mathematics/Actuarial Science from the University of Connecticut.  She is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Certified Equity Professional, and is on the San Francisco NASPP Chapter Board. Deidre is based in San Francisco.

Pam Chernoff, CEP, is a writer and editor who is a consultant in Aon Human Capital Solutions Communications Practice. She is the product owner of The Equity Print Shop. Pam specializes in employee education, print communications, and video creation in the stock plan, benefits, and total rewards space. She is a co-author of The Stock Options Book, a textbook for the Certified Equity Professional exams. Before joining Aon, she spent almost 10 years as the Curriculum Coordinator for the Certified Equity Professional program at Santa Clara University’s Silicon Valley Executive Center. Prior to working at the CEPI, she was director of equity compensation projects at the National Center for Employee Ownership, where she managed the prep course for the CEP exams. Before starting in equity compensation, she spent 10 years in journalism, including a stint as copy desk chief for Pensions & Investments newspaper. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

Peter is a Global Equity Compliance Manager at Uber, based in San Francisco. Since Uber’s IPO in 2019, Peter has focused on the tax and regulatory compliance for Uber’s employees in over 65 countries, and the global rollout of the ESPP in 24 countries. Prior to Uber, Peter worked at PwC Australia and PwC US, specialising in global equity and multi-country reporting for mobile employees for five years..  Peter received his Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University.

Nathan O’Connor is a Managing Director at Equity Methods, a consultancy that helps hundreds of public and private companies model, value and account for equity compensation and other complex securities. As the first point of contact for prospective clients, Nathan brings over a decade of quantitative consulting experience to bear in collaborating with the Valuation, Reporting, and HR Advisory practices within Equity Methods to ensure that prospective clients’ needs are met. As a liaison between the company and the broader compensation community, he shares best practices at industry events throughout the country and through publishing technical articles. Prior to his current role, Nathan served as the national valuation practice leader at Equity Methods, where he oversaw all client delivery, operations, and R&D in support of more than 400 public and private clients, in addition to directly serving the compensation consultants and senior executives of several Fortune 50 companies.

A technician at heart, Nathan is a Certified SAS Base Programmer who has taught core finance topics in the University of Arizona’s MBA program and internal derivatives workshops at Equity Methods. He holds a B.A. in International Relations from Purdue University, an M.B.A. in Derivative Securities from the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago, and an M.S. in Finance (PhD ABD) from the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona. He previously served on the Board of the Las Vegas NASPP as Program Chair and the Phoenix Chapter of the NASPP as Secretary. Currently, Nathan serves as a Chapter Leader of the Arizona Chapter of Financial Executives International and an Advisory Board Member of the Certified Equity Professional Institute.

Head of Institutional Sales and Business Development

Heather Martin is the Head of Institutional Sales and Business Development at Morgan Stanley at Work. Heather brings more than 25 years of experience in financial services, technology, and workplace benefits. Her organization and responsibilities include forging partnerships across private and public clients and prospects, driving growth, revenue, and market expansion solidifying Morgan Stanley’s position as a leader in the industry. 

Heather earned her MBA and BS, Accountancy from Bentley University and holds her FINRA Series 7, 63 and 24 licenses. Heather splits her time living between New York and Southern Maine.

Darren has provided software development consulting services since 2000 and has been a Certified Equity Professional (CEP) since 2009. He conducts data analysis, interpretation, and transformation engagements for clients across a variety of industries, with a primary focus on public equity clients. Darren also designs and develops customized software applications and business systems that improve and enhance organizations’ business operations and processes. In addition, he regularly conducts project and program management engagements using methodologies including Agile and Scrum to assist clients with enterprise-wide technology initiatives.