MARTIN HIRSCH is the Managing Director of the Equity Award Services group for Bank of America. Equity Award Services provides a comprehensive set of equity plan administrative products and solutions to publicly traded companies who issue equity as part of their global employee compensation strategy.

Martin joined Merrill Lynch in 2007 to head up the Equity Award business unit and, with his prior experience, has been driving product strategy and service delivery in the equity award compensation industry since 2000.  He began in the industry by overseeing finance and business strategy, and went on to head up the areas of product development, client services and operations.

Prior to entering the industry of equity awards, Martin was a senior technology development manager for fifteen years, during which time he was instrumental in building data warehouses, client relationship management tools, and trading applications. Over the course of his career, he has been named as an inventor on four patents.

Martin is an active member of the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP) and the Global Equity Organization (GEO).

Martin received a B.S. in Computer Science from Brooklyn College, N.Y. He lives in Teaneck, New Jersey, and is the father of six children and many grandchildren.

Vicky is responsible for the development and execution of participant focused engagement strategies across Workplace Wealth Solutions. She collaborates with internal partners and corporate clients to create programs that meet the needs and expectations of their employees so they better value their workplace provided benefits. Prior to this, Vicky launched and managed equity plan based training for the Workplace Wealth Solutions teams and corporate clients.

Vicky is a respected leader, team builder, and subject matter expert in equity plan education and communication. Her 20+ years of experience in the finance industry working with financial wellness and equity plan teams have provided her with a unique perspective on client experiences, internal organization and participant needs. Her vast knowledge allows her to quickly assess pain points and synchronize them with organizational goals and objectives that lead to exponential growth. Vicky enjoys focusing on confidently navigating, translating and delivering effective communications between internal and external stakeholders at all levels.

Before joining UBS, Vicky’s professional background was in equity plan participant communication and education, financial wellness education, financial market analysis and communication consulting. She has developed and executed complex, strategic initiatives for clients with employees all over the globe while striving for continuous improvement.

Vicky has a BA in Communication from University of Colorado at Boulder and a MS in Professional Counseling from Georgia State University. She is a Certified Equity Professional (CEP) and Series 7, 63, and 66 registered.

Pat has been part of the share plan community for over 20 years.Originally as a share plan consultant at Mercer, and then in 2002 she joined Orange as part of the in-house share plan team.

Pat then moved to Rio Tinto in 2009, and in January 2015 moved into freelance and consultancy work. Since then, Pat has provided support to several global companies on their share plans, and related projects. This includes Pearson, Vodafone, AstraZeneca, BT, Nokia, J Sainsbury's and Rio Tinto.

Pat is an active member and supporter of GEO, and speaks at their conferences and other conferences and } seminars on a regular basis.

Jay Christiansen is the Vice President of Finance Operations at Block, Inc., where he leads the Stock Administration, Payroll, Insurance, and People Safety teams. With over 15 years of experience in equity compensation, Jay holds the Certified Equity Professional (CEP) designation. Prior to joining Block, he spent more than a decade at E*TRADE, where he led a service team that supported global issuers in all facets of equity compensation, including plan design, financial reporting, regulatory filings, process automation, and more. Jay is dedicated to driving efficiency and implementing scalable solutions across all areas of the business he oversees.

Marianne is the Director of Global Stock Administration at Dolby Laboratories, Inc., overseeing the comprehensive management of Dolby’s Equity Compensation Plans across approximately 20 countries. With 25 years of experience in the Equity Compensation field, Marianne has extensive expertise in all aspects of Stock Plan Administration, including Global Stock Plan Management (Options, RSUs, Performance Awards, ESPP), Employee Communications, Internal and External Systems/Platforms Integrations, Financial Reporting/Accounting, Global Mobility and Taxation, SEC/Proxy filings, Option Exchanges, and M&A. In addition to her primary role, Marianne has held various positions in Investor Relations, HR, and Compensation. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from UC Santa Cruz and an M.A. in Counseling from San Jose State University. Marianne is also a Certified Equity Professional.

Chris joined Fidelity in January 2023, his primary focus is developing the product and strategy as Fidelity expand their SPS offering to support Clients and Participants around the world. 

 With over 25 years of experience in the equity industry, Chris has worked at a number of providers, including Head of Stock Plans at both Barclays and Buck. He has also held roles across the board in Implementation, Business Development, Client Management and Product Development. 

 Chris is also very active in the wider Share Plans community; he has spoken at many events in the UK and internationally and has served on the Board of GEO and as a member of the ProShare Advisory Panel. He has also been a Judge for the ProShare Annual Awards.