Gill Parnell is a partner in the Compensation Group, in Baker McKenzie’s London office. She advises on all aspects of employee share plans and employee taxation. Gill has over 10 years’ experience as a share plan lawyer. Gill advises on a wide variety of matters relating to employee share incentives and employment taxation, including executive remuneration. Gill assists companies with the tax and social security consequences of employees working remotely abroad or coming to work in the UK. Gill has a focus on the tax aspects of the modern workforce. Gill assists UK and multinational companies with the design, implementation and administration of their UK and international share plans and other incentive plans. She also advises on employee share incentives and executive remuneration in the context of corporate transactions.

With 15 years of expertise in HR, HRIS, Compensation & Benefits, and Startups & Innovation, Valentin has built a career at the intersection of HR, IT, and Finance, always prioritizing the employee experience at the heart of his work. Currently based in London, Valentin serves as the Group Compensation & Benefits Manager at Endeavour Mining. Beyond his professional endeavours, Valentin is passionate about mountaineering as an alpinist, competing as an ultra-distance runner, and coaching as a tennis instructor for individuals with disabilities.

Michelle Murphy brings over 27 years of specialist experience in equity plans, with a career spanning both issuer roles, across public and private companies, and provider positions. She has managed global share plans in more than 40 jurisdictions and currently leads the end-to-end processes for share plans and shareholder services at Evelyn Partners.

In her dual role as Deputy Company Secretary and Head of Shareholder Services, Michelle plays a pivotal part at Evelyn Partners, Wealth Managers, a private company formed through the merger of Tilney and Smith & Williamson in September 2020.

Her career journey includes time at Sainsbury’s, Willis, and Computershare, where she built lasting client relationships and developed deep knowledge of equity-based plans and offshore trust arrangements. She has also managed complex private company transactions.

Michelle is actively involved in professional and community organisations and contributes to Evelyn Partners’ charitable initiatives. She works closely with charities such as Career Ready, a national charity helping young people from underrepresented backgrounds access mentoring, internships, and career opportunities

James Couchman, MA Economics, Cert. ESP, is a Share Plan Specialist with over seven years of global experience managing UK, US, and international equity plans. Since February 2025, he has served as Share Plan Specialist at BMS Group, overseeing global plan administration and compliance. His previous roles include in-house positions at IG Group and Farfetch, as well as provider-side experience with Link Asset Services.

Ali is a Partner in the Deloitte Executive Remuneration Consulting Practice. He has been advising Boards and Remuneration Committees on all aspects of executive remuneration for over 20 years.  He specialises in supporting companies with the development of remuneration strategy, incentive design and shareholder engagement.

He has a cross-sector focus, working with a wide range of global clients listed in the UK and overseas. Ali also leads Deloitte’s executive remuneration on IPO offering.

Ali is partner sponsor for Deloitte's Race in the Boardroom programme which is aimed at ethnically diverse senior leaders with the ability and ambition to be considered for NED roles in UK listed companies.