Integrating employees from an acquisition into your equity philosophy and culture presents unique challenges, especially when transitioning from a cash-focused culture or introducing shares to employees who have not historically received them. This session will explore how to align interests between existing and acquired employees, overcome cultural and operational hurdles, and manage the associated costs of this shift. 

KEY LEARNING POINTS: 

• Explore strategies for aligning equity culture across acquired and existing teams. 
• Discover how to overcome challenges when introducing shares into a cash-focused culture. 
• Learn how to manage costs while integrating equity-based compensation.

Global equity professionals know that offering equity compensation isn’t one-size-fits-all. This session will present data insights from top locations—India, China, the UK, Canada, Germany, and the US—comparing employee perceptions with the ease of offering equity, as ranked by GEO’s Global Share Plan Ranking report.

Surprisingly, regions where equity is easiest to offer often see lower employee appreciation, while more challenging regions may show higher engagement.

This session will explore where employees need more support, how they prefer to receive it, and how to prioritise jurisdictions based on perceptions and regulatory obstacles.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Understand employee perceptions and attitudes toward equity compensation across key jurisdictions.
• Explore how regulatory ease or complexity impacts employee engagement with equity plans.
• Gain insights into how to tailor support and communication strategies based on jurisdictional priorities and employee needs.

This session examines key findings from the Global Equity Insights Survey 2025 (GEIS 2025) related to equity compensation in private companies. It explores how these companies design and administer equity plans, addressing unique challenges such as valuation complexities, funding stages, and ownership structures.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Understand how private firms determine equity value using methods like Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and Comparable Company Analysis (CCA), crucial for setting fair strike prices and managing long-term incentives.
• Learn how private companies adapt their equity compensation strategies through various financing rounds and in preparation for potential IPOs, balancing employee incentives with investor interests.
• Explore common equity compensation structures, vesting schedules, and administrative practices used by private companies to attract, motivate, and retain key talent while managing ownership dilution.

Maximising the potential of equity programmes relies on participant understanding and engagement. However, despite progress in communication and education, maintaining consistent participant involvement remains a persistent challenge.

In this interactive roundtable, our expert panel will share candid insights from their experiences of trial and error, offering valuable lessons, effective strategies, and fresh ideas to build stronger connections with participants.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Share and evaluate approaches to communication and education strategies that resonate with diverse participant groups.
• Discover on practical solutions and actionable insights to maintain participant engagement and drive programme success.
• Brainstorm creative outreach strategies to address evolving participant expectations and behaviours.

Administering equity plans extends far beyond initial design, with every choice made having downstream effects on compliance, data management, and daily operations. These decisions impact a broad range of stakeholders, including employees, employers, shareholders, and service providers. Balancing these needs against operational complexities such as cross-border compliance and regulatory requirements is a constant challenge for equity plan administrators.

This roundtable session will explore the critical interplay between plan design and administration, offering practical strategies and tools—such as checklists and matrices—to help anticipate and manage these downstream effects.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Share insights and challenges around differing regulatory requirements across jurisdictions and how they shape plan design.
• Discuss the ripple effects of plan design on data management, exploring collaborative solutions for maintaining accuracy and security in scalable systems.
• Consider practical strategies for balancing the diverse needs of employees, employers, and shareholders with administrative processes.

This session will demonstrate how generative AI can make share plans smarter and more efficient. You’ll see a live demo of the tools already in use to improve the experience for plan participants, compensation committees, shareholders, and administrators alike.

Practical examples will cover how AI can assist in plan design, communication, disclosure, and more. Discover how generative AI tools can generate ideas, improve clarity, and offer instant expertise. We’ll also discuss how to address privacy and confidentiality concerns when using AI tools.

The session will feature Clarita, the internal chatbot of specialty chemicals manufacturer Clariant. Launched in 2023, Clarita has become an invaluable resource, used daily by over 1,000 employees.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Explore how generative AI can streamline share plan design and communication to improve efficiency.
• Discuss real-world applications of AI tools to enhance clarity, reduce complexity, and drive engagement in share plans.
• Share best practices for managing privacy and confidentiality when integrating AI tools into equity compensation processes.

Succession planning isn’t just for top executives—it’s essential at all levels, particularly within equity plan management teams. As equity plan managers develop their teams, it’s important to foster continuity and prepare direct reports for larger roles within the department and across the organization.

In this roundtable session, panelists will discuss strategies to cultivate a culture of continuous learning, identify growth opportunities aligned with career motivations, and create effective feedback loops to enhance employee development.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• How to create a culture of continuous learning.
• Identifying growth opportunities that align with career motivations.
• Developing feedback loops to enhance employee growth.

2023 and 2024 saw pivotal shifts in data privacy with rapid regulatory advancements in the U.S. and abroad. U.S. state-level privacy laws have more than doubled, presenting both similarities and critical differences that complicate compliance.

This session will explore the current regulatory landscape, its impact on organizations, and potential future legislation. The panel will also examine Europe's growing AI and cybersecurity regulations and their potential influence on U.S. policies and companies.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Discuss key changes in U.S. data privacy laws and their real-world impact on companies.
• Share experiences and strategies for navigating state-by-state regulatory differences and ensuring compliance.
• Explore the global regulatory trends in AI and cybersecurity, and discuss their potential impact on U.S. companies in an interactive, solution-driven environment.

Communicating equity plan details is crucial for employee understanding and appreciation, especially when cash is often prioritised over non-cash benefits. In this session, we will explore how different companies approach the challenge of conveying the value of equity compensation.

With insights from Google, we’ll discuss how to reach both mobile and non-mobile employees, and examine the most effective communication strategies for different generations, from Baby Boomers to Gen Z and beyond.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Learn how to emphasize the value of equity plans to employees, particularly when cash compensation is more immediately attractive.
• Discover the most effective communication methods for different generations of employees, from quick, digestible information for younger workers to more detailed, comprehensive content for older generations.
• Explore strategies for communicating equity compensation to mobile employees, addressing how their mobility impacts their equity awards and ensuring they understand their benefits.