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.

Registration Is Open for the Forum

It's time to set a new standard in equity compensation. Welcome to the right place with the right people: The National Equity Compensation Forum, September 14-16, 2011 at the Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The Kierland Resort & Spa hosts NECF

Breaking with Convention

The Forum's theme "Breaking with Convention" is GEO's response to the demand of an unfilled niche. "After considerable feedback from our US-based chapter members, we decided to provide a place where experienced professionals can take a step back to reflect on their equity pay plans from a strategic perspective; where they can discuss topics surrounding the fast-paced and changing landscape of equity compensation among peers at their level," says Michael Bendorf, GEO's Executive Director. "We want them to walk away from the Forum with a better understanding of the role equity compensation plays in their organization's overall pay strategies and, more importantly, how it contributes to the overall success of the company."

Be First Among Peers

GEO itself is breaking with convention as it scores a number of "firsts" in our history as a leading worldwide resource for information on equity compensation. The Forum marks the first time GEO will hold an event of this size, targeted at high-level professionals within a single country. It is the first time the speaker selection team is comprised of senior professionals who will determine the content relevant to the Forum's audience, including issue-based plenary sessions and discussions with senior-level panels.

Also, strategic symposiums presented by WorldatWork and the National Center of Employee Ownership will examine the role of equity compensation within a total rewards perspective for public and private companies alike.

A Good Time to Network

The opportunity for attendees to meet peers of their caliber is one of the best-received features of our events. We also know it's too easy to gravitate toward the people we already know, so we've created the Forum schedule with an eye toward connecting people, including a quick session on how to effectively network.

Fees & Hotel Information
Issuers: $895 early registration before June 30
Providers: $1195 early registration before June 30

Westin Kierland Resort & Spa
6902 East Greenway Parkway
Scottsdale, Arizona

Forum Room Rate: $189 per night

Visit our site for more information and to register for the event. We'll see you in Scottsdale!

Peers Shaping the Forum

As I write, the Speaker Selection team is meeting to consider the presentation proposals sent to the Global Equity Organization for NECF. The proposals cover the areas of administration, plan design, compliance & tax, governance, international, communications as well as other relevant topics.

The team—Keith Pearce of Intel, Clinton Shoap of Cargill, Sandra Sussman of Gilead Sciences, and Ellen Swarthout of Silver Springs Network—has met with GEO's Carine Schneider, Michael Bendorf, and Jennifer Jolin in Foster City, California. All are experienced, senior HR compensation professionals who come to the table with different perspectives. I'm a fly on the wall, as the team takes a thorough look at each proposal to weigh its merit in the areas of subject matter, quality of content, timeliness, as well as the speaker, and throughout the process they keep coming back to the same question: Does the presentation offer strategic value?

We are setting a high standard for our content because we want to create a Forum on how companies can enhance their relationship with their employees using equity compensation as a tool. So we're taking step to ensure that we address the needs of senior professionals.

Our thanks to Sandra Sussman and Gilead Sciences for hosting our meeting, and thanks to the Speaker Selection team for taking time out to help GEO build a strong Forum. A very special thanks to all who submitted proposals. We'll release the agenda next week as registration opens for NECF May 9.

It Takes a Village ...

Although GEO is pleased to host the Forum, it's not something we can ever think about doing on our own. In addition to our very generous sponsors, we're fortunate to be working with three leading non-profit organizations as Association Partners for the Forum: WorldatWork, National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) and, most recently, the Great Place to Work Institute®, publishers of the annual 'Best Places to Work Survey.' We're pleased to have the three associations involved and are happy to witness the added depth they'll provide to the Forum discussions.

Breaking with Convention: A Quick Look at the National Equity Compensation Forum

Executive Director Michael Bendorf gives a quick, informative rundown of what to expect at the upcoming NECF this fall in Scottsdale, Arizona.