CLASS OF 2025

Cat Rylah is a Senior Equity Analyst at bp, where she has been responsible for overseeing bp’s global Share Plans since 2018. With over a decade of experience in the Share Plans industry, Cat brings expertise in both administration and tax, having started her career in 2012. Her journey has taken her through roles at Capita and Mazars, where she developed a strong foundation in managing complex equity compensation structures. 

At bp, Cat plays a pivotal role in the delivery of global share plans. Overseeing both all employee and discretionary plans. Cat is passionate about making share plans accessible to employees of all backgrounds. She continues to drive forward updates to plan communications to ensure plans are inclusive and easy to understand. 

Dan is an ICSA certified share plan professional who has worked within the share plans industry for almost 16 years. He started his career in one of the largest global share plan administrators, working in a variety of share plan roles over a nearly 10-year period, before moving to the issuer side. He now supports Sage’s Share Plan Director as the Share Plan Programme Manager, through the management and delivery of Sage’s global share plan events across both their discretionary and all-employee suite of plans.

Lucy Anderson is the Head of Growth and Client Solutions at Howells, with nearly 20 years of experience in stockbroking, including the past 9 focused on employee share plans. Her background in broking gives her a distinctive perspective, enabling her to understand client needs beyond technology and deliver solutions that create real impact.

Passionate about the role of equity in engaging and motivating employees, Lucy works with clients to provide solutions that not only meet corporate objectives but also help participants appreciate the value of becoming shareholders. She is equally committed to supporting employees after vesting, ensuring they have the tools and knowledge to make the most of their equity.

Lucy draws on her extensive industry experience and strong professional network to provide clients with bespoke, practical solutions tailored to their goals. Known for her collaborative approach, she combines strategic insight with a deep understanding of how share plans work in practice.

Beyond her role at Howells, Lucy co-founded a networking group focused on developing the next generation of share plan professionals, encouraging knowledge-sharing and growth within the industry.

Joe is a Senior Manager on KPMG’s Global Reward Services team. With nearly eight years of experience at KPMG, Joe is an expert in advising clients on complex tax issues related to compensation and benefits, with a focus on incentive compensation plans. His extensive professional background includes working with multinational corporations and start-ups across diverse industries such as financial services, automotive, pharmaceutical, and information technology. 

Joe excels in helping clients maintain global tax compliance and enhance operational efficiency through automation. He has successfully guided numerous clients in managing their payroll reporting and withholding obligations with respect to global incentive compensation awards, ensuring consistent and compliant practices. His advisory skills further extend to conducting tax diligence reviews, supporting global equity filings, and assisting in equity plan design and compensation benchmarking to attract and retain top talent. 

In addition to his professional achievements, Joe holds a BA and an MBA from Binghamton University and is an Enrolled Agent. 

Carmen Egermann is a Senior Manager in KPMG’s Global Reward Services group responsible for KPMG’s German reward practice and advises multinational clients on equity and reward topics. With over 15 years of experience, Carmen specializes in the tax and implementation aspects of employee equity plans. Before joining KPMG, she worked for Siemens AG’s Global Equity team, where she was responsible for the tax implementation of the Siemens Share Matching Plan in more than 60 countries. During her time at Siemens, Carmen and her team received a GEO award, which she presented at the GEO conference alongside the KPMG Global Equity Tracker Team.

Carmen is an active thought leader, regularly hosting webcasts, publishing in professional journals, and engaging audiences through KPMG’s podcast on employee and management equity plans. She maintains strong connections with academic institutions and German political associations, advocating for employee participation across diverse company ownership structures.

As a member of the GEO DACH chapter team, Carmen supports the growth of GEO in the German-speaking region. She is passionate about developing innovative equity programs and fostering collaboration within the global equity community. As a GEO Future Leader, Carmen looks forward to sharing her expertise and learning from peers worldwide. 

Oykum is the Global Equity Director at Danone, responsible for all global employee share plans. She has 18 years of HR experience, mostly in reward. Oykum has 7 years of expertise and a passion for global share plans. 

Having worked across industries and in multinational organizations all her career Oykum is hoping to bring this perspective to equity strategy. Oykum is based in Paris, where she lives with her family.  

Alex Matos de Souza is a Certified Equity Professional (CEP) with more than a decade of experience in taxation, payroll, and global equity compensation. He began his career at EY and Deloitte, advising clients on labor and social security matters, before moving in-house to lead equity programs at high-growth companies. Over the past six years, Alex has specialized in managing and scaling stock plan operations across multiple countries, including three years at Nubank, a NYSE-listed company, where he contributed to its IPO and oversaw global equity administration, and more than two years at Remote, managing equity plans across 90 jurisdictions.

Currently, Alex is part of QuintoAndar, one of Brazil’s leading proptech companies, where he manages the equity compensation program, focusing on compliance, process innovation, and enhancing the employee experience. His role combines technical expertise with a commitment to building scalable systems that empower both the company and its employees.

Beyond his corporate role, Alex is passionate about fostering the equity community in Latin America. He has launched the GEO Brazil Chapter, connecting professionals, companies, and policymakers to advance the understanding and adoption of equity-based compensation in the region.

Alex lives in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, with his wife and two children. Outside of work, he enjoys chess, classical music, video games, wine, sports such as soccer, tennis, and volleyball, holistic wellness and spiritual practice, and exploring philosophy and personal growth. 

Mala Patel is a Senior Associate in the Employee Incentives practice at international law firm CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang. Mala assists a full range of clients from start-ups to listed global companies and private equity houses, advising on the design and implementation of all types of cash and equity-based employee incentive arrangements and providing tax and compliance advice. Mala also advises clients on the impact of takeovers and investments on share plans, assistance with operating employee benefit trusts and implementing tax advantaged share plan arrangements.

Mala is a clear and strategic thinker, consistently delivering commercially attuned advice that goes beyond the legal framework to consider broader business implications. Her ability to ask the right questions and anticipate “what if” scenarios ensures that her guidance is both practical and forward-looking.

Prior to qualifying as a lawyer, Mala spent nearly 15 years in industry as a brand manager for a number of consumer goods brands. As a second-career lawyer, Mala brings a wealth of prior experience and a fresh, valuable perspective to employee share plans.

Jennifer is a Senior Relationship Manager at Computershare Plan Managers. She is responsible for managing intricate international equity compensation plans for a portfolio of global clients. 

Jennifer is committed to advancing Canadian-based thought leadership in the equity professional industry. 

Greg Veltri is a Director at Infinite Equity. He was formerly a Senior Consultant based in Florida with Aon Equity Services, the equity valuation and accounting group that assists over 800 companies with all aspects of Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 718: Stock Compensation; ranging from plan design considerations to expense accruals. Greg works with clients on plan design, analyzing stock option data, statistical analyses, developing valuation assumptions, providing audit support, and producing valuations with financial reporting information for a broad range of equity-based compensation instruments including Employee Stock Purchase Plans (ESPPs) and Performance-Based equity awards.

Greg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Loyola University New Orleans and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Florida Atlantic University. Prior to working at Aon, Greg was a Director of Engineering, Engineering Sales Manager, and an Electrical Engineer. He is a former President and advisory board member of the NASPP Denver Chapter and maintains the Certified Equity Professional (CEP) designation through Santa Clara University.