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 is an experienced governance and share plans professional with more than 28 years’ industry expertise. She specialises in equity‑based incentive arrangements, offshore trust structures, and shareholder services across complex private‑company environments.

As Deputy Company Secretary and Head of Shareholder Services at Evelyn Partners (formerly Tilney Smith & Williamson), Michelle leads the Group’s end‑to‑end equity operations, oversees all shareholder services activity, and deputises for the Group Company Secretary. She also manages a high‑performing team, ensures compliance with company law, share plan rules, trust deeds and Articles, and works closely with senior leadership, advisers and regulators across the UK, Ireland, and the Channel Islands.

Throughout her career, Michelle has played a pivotal role in major strategic transactions, including the 2020 Tilney–Smith & Williamson merger, large‑scale preference share redemptions, refinancing programmes, and the 2025 sale of the Professional Services business. She is currently supporting the Group through its next transformational milestone: the sale of Evelyn Partners to NatWest Group, expected to complete in early summer 2026.

Prior to joining Evelyn Partners, Michelle held senior share plan and governance roles at Sainsbury’s, Willis, and Computershare, where she gained extensive experience managing global share plans across 40+ jurisdictions and building strong, long‑term stakeholder relationships.

Michelle is also a Trustee of the Evelyn Partners Charitable Trust and an active supporter of social mobility initiatives, including mentoring programmes delivered in partnership with national charity Career Ready.

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.

Stuart has a been involved in the share plans industry for over 30 years. Originally part of the workplace distribution business at Santander, Stuart has roles at the FSA, Accurate Equity, Equatex and Computershare. A former chair of judges at ProShare and a member of the ESOP Centre advisory panel Stuart  has been a strong advocate for workplace financial education which is something that is core to his role at  WEALTH at work.

Sara Beitler is Director of Stock Plan Administration at Activision Blizzard, Inc., now part of Microsoft. With over 20 years of global experience, Sara leads equity programs for 10,000 employees across multiple continents, partnering with executives and cross-functional teams to deliver strategic equity solutions. She is known for transforming incentive plans, managing complex M&A equity conversions, and championing employee education on equity.