Examine the impact of the current political climate in Western Europe on share plans and employee taxation with insights from our expert panel. The session will explore current trends, key tax, and legal challenges, and what to expect in the near future. Gain a broader understanding of emerging issues and how they might affect your share plans.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• Understand how the political climate in Western Europe could influence share plans and employee taxation
• Identify key tax and legal challenges currently affecting and expected to impact share plans
• Gain insights into emerging issues across the continent and how they may affect your strategies

Explore how recent global changes are reshaping equity plans in this insightful session. We’ll delve into the impact of the evolving economic climate, shifts in government and workplace dynamics, and the changing role of employee equity plans. Our panel of experts will provide perspectives from economists, equity issuers, advisors, and providers, highlighting trends in awards, metrics, and structures. 

Gain valuable insights and practical strategies for leveraging equity as a powerful tool for organisational success in a competitive, globalised world.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• Understand how recent economic and geopolitical changes affect stock plan design and usage.
• Learn how workplace disruptions and government shifts impact employee equity plans and performance awards.
• Discover practical strategies and real-life examples to navigate equity trends and shape successful companies.

Setting up an employee share plan involves crucial decisions about sourcing shares and managing sales effectively. Join Ghal and Tom from EQ's Corporate Dealing team, Ben McCarthy from Linklaters and Rob Lyons from M&S as they share their extensive experience in this area.  They’ll cover current trends in sourcing shares, looking at new issue or market purchase, along with key considerations for an issuer and their finance team.  Discover strategies for hedging, managing large share sales and using the Employee Benefit Trust to your advantage. There will be focus on the recent changes to dilution limits in the Investment Association’s Principles of Remuneration.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• Learn strategies for sourcing shares, planning in advance for your share plan vesting whilst managing headroom and dilution limits.
• Understand how an issuer can use various approaches across their share plan grants to keep their finance team and employees happy.
• Discover effective liquidity management techniques to ensure an orderly market at vesting.

Employee share plans play a critical role in fostering employee engagement, retention, and alignment with business objectives. In this panel session, we will explore how leading FTSE companies have implemented and adapted their employee share plans to suit their unique business strategies. Join us as industry experts discuss their real-world experiences, challenges, and key takeaways from designing and managing these initiatives.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Gain insights into how different FTSE companies structure their employee share plans to reflect their organizational goals and cultures.
• Understand common obstacles faced during implementation and management of employee share plans, and explore strategies to overcome them.
• Learn how employee share plans are leveraged to reinforce company values, drive business performance, and support long-term strategic objectives.

Join this session to uncover the latest trends in global share plans with highlights from the 12th annual Global Equity Insights Survey (GEIS) 2024. This unique survey reveals crucial insights into how companies worldwide use equity, focusing on Long Term Incentives (LTIs), Share Purchase Plans (SPPs), and talent.

The panel will also explore survey findings on how companies are harnessing the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for their equity compensation strategies, showcasing real-world applications and best practices.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• Discover the latest trends in global share plans from the 2024 Global Equity Insights Survey, including LTIs and SPPs
• Gain insights into how AI is revolutionising equity compensation strategies
• Learn best practices and emerging trends in equity-based compensation to apply in your company

Are you ready for the future of pay transparency? Prepare for the future of pay transparency with our session on the EU's upcoming 'Pay Transparency Directive.' Set to roll out by June 2026, this legislation will affect all member states. Discover what this means for share plan professionals and gain insights on navigating the challenges ahead.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• Understand the implications of the EU's 'Pay Transparency Directive' for share plan professionals
• Identify key challenges and considerations for complying with the new legislation
• Receive a roadmap to help plan and ensure compliance with the directive.

AI: coming for a job near you! Or is it? In this full and frank fireside chat, GEO's Gabbi Stopp will moderate a discussion with two highly-experienced, leading lights in the global equity space, Mark Higgins of WPP and Julie Shepherd of Sage Group. Both these firms are already harnessing the transformative power of AI across their businesses, and are actively exploring AI's potential for aspects of equity compensation. Both these speakers have charted highly successful careers in global equity issuance. Join us to engage with the biggest challenge and opportunity for our industry, and come away informed, inspired and hopefully, illuminated!

KEY LEARNINGS:

• Discover how WPP and Sage Group are integrating AI into their equity compensation strategies
• Gain insights into the opportunities and challenges AI presents for the global equity industry
• Learn from the experiences of leading experts in global equity issuance on harnessing AI's transformative power.

Join this session to explore how private companies leverage share plans strategically to drive growth and enhance employee engagement. These plans serve as potent incentives, aligning employees' interests with the long-term success of the company. They foster a sense of ownership and commitment that can be challenging to achieve with non-equity-based rewards.

The panel will cover navigating the use of equity in private equity-backed portfolio companies, exploring pathways to achieve liquidity for private companies, and understanding the mechanics of growth shares and their potential for tax efficiencies. They will also examine how traditional tax-advantaged plans can be optimised to maximise benefits and discuss fostering an employee ownership culture through initiatives like employee ownership trusts (EOT) and broader employee plans. Additionally, considerations for private companies when extending equity on an international scale will be covered.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• A clear understanding of how share plans align employee interests with company growth
• Insight into effective strategies for achieving liquidity in private companies
• Knowledge of the benefits and tax efficiencies associated with using growth shares.