Who's Coming to the Forum?

We're just six weeks out from the debut of GEO's National Equity Compensation Forum, and we're growing more excited with each passing day. GEO members truly understand the importance behind each of our events. Keith Pearce, Intel's Perceived Value Program Manager, explains his involvement, the relevance of this new event, and why he's attending the Forum.  We release videos about the Forum and GEO on a regular basis. Be sure to check out the latest on our YouTube channel or our website. We look forward to seeing you at the Forum!

[Audio] NECF Breakout Sessions Preview - Listen to the Speakers

Here's an exclusive preview of three breakout sessions available at the Forum in September. For more detailed descriptions, or to listen to a message from the presenters, click on the links below. 

Governance

Good Corporate Governance Best Practice in Design and Operation of Share-based Payment Programs  

There has been increased skepticism about stock options during the last decade as a result of the regulatory struggle over expensing, the debate over executive compensation, shareholder concern about dilution, a series of accounting and back-dating scandals, and concern over the role of incentives in financial crises. We will cite various polls and surveys as evidence ...more 

Compliance/Tax

Where U.S. Oversight of Equity Compensation for Executives Meets the Company's Business and Operational Considerations: The Collision that Is the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act  

As companies struggle to understand the legal requirements of say-on-pay, compensation committee independence, additional executive compensation disclosure, hedging restrictions for executives and recoupment of incentive-based compensation, they are at the same time trying to create equity programs that will ensure the retention of key executives who are necessary to drive businesses operations on a worldwide basis ... more 

457A - Not Going Away  

October 2008, the United States Congress adopted Internal Revenue Code Section 457A, which changed the rules for certain deferred compensation arrangements, especially those with a global reach. This code section impacts plans, employers and employees in unexpected ways, and the costs of noncompliance are problematic ... more

Appreciating the Complexities of Equity Compensation

Equity compensation strategies have reached new levels of complexities, and while it's imperative to stay up to speed with emerging issues and trends in a multitude of topics, it's equally important stay abreast of what solution providers can offer. That's where strategy meets execution and, as veteran members know, where GEO excels with its events.

It Takes Two

The Forum's content is so rich, consider bringing along a colleague and save $200 off the combined registration fees*. While one of you learns to address key challenges in managing equity programs, the other can discover a variety of solutions and services available to help successfully navigate those challenges. Together, you can network with peers and other industry professionals.

Learn

• Peer-driven educational agenda
• Outstanding plenary sessions help you consider the potential of equity in a new light
• 24+ quality breakout sessions addressing key issues and opportunities

Discover

• Explore our three-tiered discovery center, including ... 
• More than 25 solution providers in our Exhibit Hall
• Exclusive technology showcase with 17 in-depth demonstrations
• One-on-one conversations with a key providers in  hospitality suites.

*offer available only to issuer members

Forum Spotlight: A Preview of Breakout Sessions

Follow the links below for a quick description of each presentation. 

Governance 

The Next Generation of Performance Plans? Fixing Governance Ups and Downs 

While performance plans resolve some governance issues, they are creating new governance challenges which are not always apparent or easy to identify and measure ... find out more

Plan Design

Performance Metrics: Where One Size Does Not Fit All. Is TSR Right for You?

A dynamic discussion of whether or not TSR (Total Shareholder Return) is the right metric to choose for a corporation's performance based equity plans ... find out more 

Communications

Re-Imagining Grant Communications through Marketing Psychology 

Re-imagining grant agreements and other participant communications through the lens of marketing psychology, an offshoot of behavior economics that focuses on how information is presented and what impact different structures of documentation have on individuals ... find out more

At the Forum, we offer multiple topics in each of the six main categories of the event's breakout sessions. Our committee of senior equity professionals have identified presentations and panel discussions, led by experts in your field, that will give you new perspectives and opportunities for your equity compensation strategy. Join us. Break with Convention

Sneak Peek: Our July Workspan Ad for the Forum

Network, Network, Network

Let’s face it, we’re not all power-networkers. Last week, I was at WorldatWork’s Total Rewards 2011 Conference and Exhibition with Michael Bendorf and Wade Johnson. More often than not, while I tell myself that I’m going to a conference to make new contacts and grow my professional network and my organization, it’s much easier to find my colleagues and trade show friends to spend time with them instead. It’s a push to reach out and meet new people. Networking, while essential to work, can feel like a barrier to people at all career levels, and sometimes all it takes to get passed the anxiety is practice, practice, practice.

At the upcoming National Equity Compensation Forum we want to help you jumpstart your networking with ease and fun early on, so we’ve set aside some session time on the first day for Speed Networking. If you’ve tried it before, you know it’s worth the time. If you haven’t, think of it as “speed dating” for professionals—with less emphasis on romance.

Speed Networking is structured as a series of quick, time-limited connections with people. It gives you a chance to hone your own introduction to what’s essential about you and your work, while listening to others make theirs. It’s fun, mutually beneficial and you won’t stress, looking for the “out” of the conversation. It can help you set the tone for your experience for the rest of the Forum, filled with many opportunities to network.

Remember, the Forum is focused on topics and discussions for people of a high caliber, so you’ll want to meet them, exchange thoughts and ideas, and find ways to take your work and your organization to the next level.

The Strength of Chapter Meetings

We are less than four months out from the Forum, and preparations are well underway. There’s a fair amount of work to be done, debuting an entirely new conference, but after attending a few chapter meetings, it’s clear why Global Equity Organization is holding a domestic event. It’s because the Forum is a great fit for GEO’s North American members.

Case in point: Last week, more than 100 members came to Domenico Wines in San Carlos, California for a half-day regional event to reconnect with peers, make new contacts, and learn the latest news in equity compensation. This annual event grew from last year’s, largely due to the efforts of our Northern California Regional Planning Committee, led by Director Debbie Tsoi-A-Sue.

California GEO members attend their regional event, May 12, 2011.

Presenters included Christian Kimball of Fidelity Investments, Randy Murphy of Salesforce.com, and Christine McCarthy and Jennifer George of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. The event also featured a practitioners’ panel comprised of Veena Bhatia of Gilead Sciences, Rita Dickson of Oracle Corporation, and Jacobin Zorin and Tracy deSwiet of ISP Advisors.

Overall, the event provided robust information on global equity markets, as well as hot trends in worldwide employee share plans with topics including administrator one-off scenarios, SAFE registration, compensation/total rewards design, employee education, mergers & acquisitions, global regulatory changes and tax/mobility issues.

As a not-for-profit organization focused on equity compensation, GEO’s strength lies within its chapters, and the chapters show their strength with their ability to attract members with breadth and depth in experience across many industries. Here’s where you can help: To ensure the success of the Forum, we need to leverage the strength of our chapters. At chapter meetings in the coming weeks and months, make sure new and old GEO members alike are invited to this exclusive event where they can share the key challenges they face as equity practitioners in the United States. 

As always, GEO depends on its members and chapters to be the premier equity compensation organization and we sincerely appreciate your efforts. We hope to see you at an upcoming chapter event, or better yet, the Forum.