GEO AWARD WINNERS

The Magnum Ice Cream Company has been recognised for its thoughtful and impactful use of employee share plans during its demerger from Unilever—combining technical execution with a strong focus on employee experience, fairness, and ownership.

At the heart of the programme was a clear objective: not only to manage the complexities of separating from a parent company, but to establish a new ownership culture from day one.

A standout feature was the introduction of a global Celebration Award, granting over 15,000 employees across 47 countries free shares valued at €300. This ensured that every employee—regardless of role or location—had an immediate stake in the future of the newly independent business. A 12-month holding period reinforced long-term engagement, while cash alternatives ensured inclusivity in markets where equity delivery was not feasible.

Alongside this, the company implemented a series of fairness measures to support employees through the transition. Participants in legacy Unilever plans retained a pro-rated portion of their existing awards, while replacement awards were introduced to ensure continuity of value and alignment with the new company. This structured approach helped maintain trust and reinforced the company’s commitment to treating employees equitably during a period of significant change.

Judges highlighted the strength of this combined approach—balancing technical execution with a clear focus on employee impact. The programme ensured that employees were not only protected financially, but also actively included in the next chapter of the organisation’s journey.

The initiative was further strengthened by a highly engaging communications strategy. Built around a celebratory theme, the campaign positioned the corporate action as a positive milestone rather than a source of uncertainty. A dedicated microsite, multilingual resources, and visually engaging materials helped simplify complex information and support understanding across a diverse global workforce.

Early engagement metrics demonstrated strong interest, with high levels of interaction with the digital hub and supporting materials. More importantly, the programme successfully created a sense of excitement and connection—reinforcing employee confidence and encouraging a shared ownership mindset.

Overall, The Magnum Ice Cream Company’s approach stands out for its ability to combine fairness, inclusivity, and strong design with a clear focus on employee experience. It demonstrates how share plans can be used not only to manage corporate actions, but to strengthen culture, build trust, and create a lasting sense of ownership at a critical moment in a company’s evolution.

Aviva has been recognised for its outstanding execution of employee share plans during the acquisition of Direct Line Group—delivering a seamless, inclusive, and employee-focused transition at exceptional speed.

At the core of the programme was a clear ambition: to welcome new colleagues into Aviva’s ownership culture from day one, while protecting existing share plan value and minimising disruption during a period of significant change.

A defining feature of the approach was the introduction of a global Free Share Award, granted to employees at the point of acquisition. This ensured that all colleagues—both existing and newly acquired—could immediately share in the future success of the organisation, reinforcing a strong sense of inclusion and shared purpose.

Alongside this, Aviva implemented a series of continuity and fairness measures. Existing awards from Direct Line Group were accelerated, time-pro-rated, and replaced where necessary, ensuring employees did not lose value through the transition. At the same time, new colleagues were rapidly integrated into Aviva’s share plans, including the Share Incentive Plan (SIP), Matching Share Plan (MSP), and SAYE—many gaining access to these opportunities for the first time.

What sets this programme apart is the speed and precision of execution. Within just eight working days of acquisition completion, key actions had been delivered, including plan onboarding, award replacement, and communication rollout—all while Aviva was simultaneously transitioning to a new share plan administrator.

Despite this complexity, the programme achieved strong participation outcomes, including 39% enrolment in the Matching Share Plan within the first month and near-universal uptake of the Free Share Award. These results demonstrate both the effectiveness of the design and the clarity of execution.

Judges particularly noted the programme’s focus on employee experience, ensuring that colleagues felt supported, informed, and included throughout the process. Share plans were used not only as a technical tool for managing the transaction, but as a way to build trust, reduce uncertainty, and create a sense of belonging during a pivotal moment.

Overall, Aviva’s approach highlights how share plans can play a central role in corporate actions—delivering fairness, continuity, and engagement at scale, even under significant time pressure.

Unilever has been recognised for delivering an exceptional employee share plan programme during one of the largest and most complex corporate restructurings in its history—the demerger of its €8bn ice cream business and the creation of The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC), alongside a simultaneous share consolidation.

The scale of the challenge was significant, impacting over 57,000 employees and former employees across more than 100 countries, with multiple plans, jurisdictions, and regulatory environments to consider. The programme required precise coordination across global teams, administrators, legal advisors, and market infrastructures—while maintaining a consistent and fair employee experience.

At the heart of the approach was a commitment to preserving employee value and ensuring fairness. Unilever maintained the full economic value of unvested LTIP and SHARES awards through an 8-for-9 share consolidation, ensuring continuity of terms, performance conditions, and vesting timelines. Employees transitioning to TMICC were treated consistently under established “good leaver” principles, with pro-rated awards continuing to vest, protecting earned value while enabling a clean organisational separation.

A key differentiator was the programme’s technical and operational excellence. The initiative required the creation of new share plan structures across two issuers and multiple stock exchanges, including the mirroring of holdings, the introduction of new vehicles and identifiers, and the re-engineering of plan rules to function seamlessly in a dual-issuer environment. In total, more than 9 million transactions were executed without disruption—an achievement of remarkable precision and scale.

The programme also demonstrated strong leadership in tax, regulatory, and governance alignment. A globally consistent cost-basis methodology was implemented, alongside clear participant guidance, ensuring accurate reporting and compliance across jurisdictions. Systems and processes were fully aligned with public market timelines, ensuring participant holdings reflected real-time market outcomes.

To support employees through this complexity, Unilever delivered a comprehensive multi-language communications programme, with materials available in over 15 languages and deployed across digital platforms, webinars, FAQs, and in-system messaging. This ensured employees across diverse regions and levels of financial understanding could access clear, timely, and relevant information throughout the process.

Importantly, the programme did not end at execution. Continued education and support ensured employees remained engaged and confident in managing their holdings across both Unilever and TMICC, reinforcing long-term trust in the organisation’s equity framework.

Judges highlighted the programme as a scalable industry blueprint, combining fairness, technical precision, and global coordination to deliver a seamless employee experience through complex, back-to-back corporate actions.

Overall, Unilever’s approach demonstrates how well-designed and expertly executed share plans can anchor employee confidence, protect value, and maintain engagement—even during the most complex organisational transformations.