Seminar Program

This year we have delved deeper than before and have interesting cost information which will be both useful and thought provoking.

COMPLIANCE

• Best practice for Commuters and Frequent Business Travellers

• Cross border commuters. What are others doing to track and monitor these employees?

• General compliance issues and how companies work to make these processes more efficient

• Potential effect of sequestration on government contractor’s ability to support expat assignments?

POLICY

• Cross border commuters – what are others are experiencing, what policy provisions seems to be best practice, what works well and what isn’t working well,

• What is the general expat population feedback on policy provisions?  What is it that entices someone to go on assignment nowadays?  What may drive them away or attract them to another company?

• Negative Indexing, who applies it, where is it applied and is it capped?

• On short term and long term assignments are companies using a “one size fits all” approach to their policies and benefits or by level of the assignee or core policy with cafeteria style options?

• Housing norm deduction and best practices.  Are companies moving away from this trend or is it still something that is still popular?

TAX EQUALISATION POLICY

• Most companies are working from a U.S. tax equalization policy using the balance sheet approach.   What are other companies doing to address equity and consistency while applying the stay at home tax approach to non- US expats and for assignments in non-tax countries (Dubai – Qatar)?

• How are companies managing tax equalization for assignees that sell stock while on assignment, is there a cap that will be tax equalized?

COSTS

• Controlling costs – the greater the flexibility, the greater the costs.  Managing the costs and accurately determining COLAs and the costs of assignment when dealing with economies that are struggling, and exchange rates that fluctuate often, and how this impacts on existing contracts established with clients.

ORGANIZATION

• Organizational Structure of Global Mobility in the corporation—where does GM fit and how are practices defined and implemented within corporate philosophy/strategies?  What can be done better to fit strategic goals?

TALENT

• In the US as well as in Japan, Italy, and some other “aging” workforce countries, how are companies retaining top talent and what are the top companies doing to rotate skills, share talent across their own lines of business, re-assign employees to different roles – all in the name of retention.

• Talent Selection processes – choosing better candidates and how to better retain them afterwards

• How are company’s global mobility leaders integrating talent management teams / processes / philosophies into the global mobility practices.  What drives this connection point and what benefit is the company hoping to see as an outcome?

TECHNOLOGY

• Best practice for Commuters and Frequent Business Travellers

• How/where to house data.  What tools do other companies use (what they like, what could be better, etc.).  What’s most cost-effective?

• How are companies tracking global mobility? 

Opening Remarks
Brian Friedman, Founder & CEO, The Forum for Expatriate Management

How Technology Companies use Technology.

Sue Blasius, Relocation Program Manager, ADP
Kathy Curtis, Senior Manager of Global Relocation, Cisco Systems, Inc,
Kelly McGill, Senior Director of HR,  Microsoft,
Brenda Rodriguez, Leader, HR Global Programs Leader, Intuit

In this session FEM corporate members will discuss their role in how their organizations use technology to monitor and track assignees including:-

• Collating cost information
• The business and assignee buy-in to the technology solution
• How technology is used to manage talent
• The benefits of using technology (cost-tracking, monitoring ROI, ensuring compliance etc)

Managing the Global Mobility Function – 2012 Benchmarking Survey

Brian Friedman, Founder & CEO, The Forum for Expatriate Management

The FEM will be revealing the results of this year’s survey on Global Mobility performance metrics, organizational structure and Vendor Benchmarking. This year we have delved deeper than before and looked into the some of the typical costs involved. The survey includes responses from over 250 major companies and contains data on over 100 different service providers. This is a must attend session for any Global Mobility professional and will provide invaluable benchmarking information.

Managing a high profile program

Matthew Burns, Director of Global Mobility, Lockheed Martin
Carolina Garcia-Zigal, Senior Manager of Global Mobility and Talent Acquisition Programs, Autodesk, Inc
Robert Lesser, Morgan Stanley (Retired)
Ginger Merrick, Global Mobility Manager, Coca-Cola Refreshments
Varsha Vig, Director of Global Compensation,  McDonald’s Corporation
Andrew Walker, Group Director, Mobility, WorleyParsons

In this session FEM corporate members will discuss their experiences in managing a high profile program including:-

• Who determines who goes on assignment?
• Is the GM function involved in assignee selection?
• Is cost taken into account when considering assignee selection?
• Are most assignments business driven, or career related?
• How are policy exceptions handled?
• How are assignees careers managed?
• Who instigates repatriation?
• How do you minimize the number of failed assignment

Mark Rabe, Vice President Business Development, Equus Software
Ken Guilfoyle, Practice Leader Expatriate Services, BDO

In today’s fast-paced business environment, it is more important than ever to utilize every resource available to manage the multitude of tasks associated with employee assignments. In this seminar presentation we will explore the many ways that you can successfully leverage technology tools that provide important measurement and in-depth and practical reports, across the entire lifecycle of an assignment that help to create accountability and shore up best practices within your organization.

James Higgins, Vice President, Global Sales, BridgeStreet

With limited inventory and increased rents in global markets there is a continued demand for supply chain management in the serviced apartments industry. This presentation will focus on designed strategies, location planning, cost control, and monitoring limited supply, while addressing the geographic demand.
James Higgins, Vice President of Global Sales for BridgeStreet is a ten year veteran of serviced apartments industry with an extensive background in New York City real estate.

Gardiner Hempel, Partner, Deloitte Tax

We all want to know what our world will be like in the future, and we all listen with great interest to the predictions of futurists and even fortune-tellers.  Some of us also have prescient views of tomorrow.  One thing is certain, and that is as the world revolves, global mobility continues to evolve.  In this session, we will venture on both a serious and not-so-serious journey into the future and take a peek at the world of global mobility as it could look twelve years from now.  Our goal is to get a glimpse of what that environment will be like and consider what that will mean for all of us as corporate HR and Tax Mobility Managers and as service providers, and predict the impact on all the support services we will provide to our companies and their expatriate employees.

Pamela H. Borges, Associate Director, Grant Thornton Brasil
Winston Romero, Senior Tax Development Manager, Grant Thornton Americas

The Latin American business landscape is changing as countries react to ongoing economic challenges.  Faced with increasing tax rates and more aggressive enforcement of long standing rules, global employers should evaluate their talent locations taking into consideration cost, risk management and corporate governance.   This session will provide you with an update on current trends and planning ideas for moving talent from the US to Latin America, including highlights from recent Latin American tax and legislative changes.    

Dr. Sheri Sinaga, SCRP, SGMS, Director, Business Development, Cartus

Despite a challenging global economy, 94 percent of multinational companies expect to increase the number of employees they transfer this year and next (or keep volume the same), according to the recently released 2012 Trends in Global Relocation Survey from Cartus Corporation.
The survey also documented the trend toward benefit ‘right-sizing’ which, for many companies has been driven by years of a tough economic climate, and has made them smarter and more targeted in their assignment programs. Among the most surprising findings of the study is that despite the increase in relocation volume, companies are changing the way they deploy employees. Firms are not only moving away from traditional, long-term assignments into more alternative, temporary forms, but they are also trimming benefits and reducing assignment durations.
This session will focus on key mobility trends and share insights and best practices from best-in-class organizations around the three phases of an assignment:

• Pre-Assignment
• On Assignment
• Repatriation

Ken Guilfoyle, GPHR CPA,  Practice Leader Expatriate Services, BDO
Wayne Cooper, Global Mobility Analyst, McKesson

Still a work in process, McKesson corporation embarked on a new model of global mobility management in 2010.  The move toward a shared services HR management was based on the need for tighter controls and compliance.   Hear Wayne Cooper of McKesson Corporation and Ken Guilfoyle of BDO discuss their partnership.  Working together the pair have discovered the challenges of global mobility management and ways to overcome those challenges.   They will discuss the history, examples, management theory, and the state of play today for the company’s moved towards a shared services HR model.
This discussion will be for HR professionals, relocation professionals and others considering moving their HR management of global mobility to a shared services model.

Dimitri Vigushin, Director of Client Services, Polaris Global Mobility

Still juggling spreadsheets?  Hand-typing your offers?  Waiting 24 hours to get a Cost Estimate?  The Global Mobility industry is very much ready to embrace technology as more and more companies are getting tired of struggling with the manual way.  Attend this session to hear the latest information about trends in the Global Mobility technology world and to learn about how technology is helping many multi-national companies add efficiency, productivity, organization, and compliance to their programs. 

John O’Connell, Vice President, Global Operations, SIRVA Worldwide, Inc

India is the second largest and fastest growing economy in the world. In five years, the country’s GDP is expected to increase by 8.3 percent. For all India has to offer businesses, it suffers from a talent void. A shortage of skills in growth areas will require businesses to deploy people into Tier 1 and Non Tier 1 locations.

This session will outline:

1. The top five mobility challenges in India and how to overcome them
2. How companies are structuring relocation policies to prepare for increased assignments in India

Attendees will receive a better understanding of the mobility landscape in India and how they can best develop or improve their relocation policies to succeed in this region.

Immigration Panel

Moderated by: Fragomen

Panelists:
Andrea Elliott, Senior Global Immigration Counsel, Pro-Link GLOBAL
Rami D Fakhoury, Founder and Managing Attorney of Fakhoury Law Group, PC (FLG),
Elaine Martin, Managing Director, Immigration Services, Paragon GeoImmigration
Robert F. Loughran, Partner, FosterQuan, LLP
Julie Pearl, Managing Attorney, Pearl Law Group

What are the current trends in immigration compliance around the world? Join our panel of experts to learn more about how the economy and global migration trends
are affecting companies’ ability to have talent where it is needed, when it is needed.

Ayse Tuncman, Vice President, Brown Brothers Harriman
Paul Lewis, Regional Sales Manager, South-East, MetLife Expatriate Benefits

An all too often forgotten aspect of an assignment package is the impact of cross border relocation on the employee benefits package. Leading experts, from Brown Brother Harriman & Co and MetLife, will be joining us to discuss the key issues.

Leslie Jefferson, Manager Global Mobility and HR Policy, Xerox Corporation

Prior to its transformation, the Xerox mobility program was decentralized with policies that varied by business unit and region.  Service quality was inconsistent, compliance was tough to manage and program expense was impossible to track. If your organization has faced any of these challenges, this seminar is for you. We will break down the transformation into five practical steps that you can implement right away — no business-speak or secret sauce, just practical and proven advice on transforming your mobility program to:

• Drive measurable value
• Advance your talent management strategy
• Deliver consistently “top block” service and compliance
• Reduce operating expense

Practical “take-aways”…that is the goal of this seminar.  We hope you join us!

Dave Kolb, President, Global Tax Network
Jill Mikolajczak, Managing Director, Global Tax Network

There is increased focus by the U.S and jurisdictions around the world on tax and reporting issues relating to cross-border assignments and business travelers. International assignment programs that ignore the trend and continue to follow the status quo are “spinning the wheel” and may be subjecting their companies and assignees to increased financial and legal risks! Please join Global Tax Network’s President, Dave Kolb, and California Managing Director, Jill Mikolajczak, as they highlight key global risk areas and trends with a goal of helping your company and assignees from becoming participants in a high-stakes game of chance.

Cynthia Lange, Partner, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP, Santa Clara and San Francisco, CA.

The session is designed to provide participants the information they need to know today about current immigration trends and how to plan for the future.

This is a session you will not want to miss.

Dean Foster, President and founder, DFA Intercultural Global Solutions

With the average "cost" of an international assignment at approximately US$1 million, accurately measuring and insuring a return on this investment is critical. This presentation explores how a strategic approach to intercultural support insures the development of the global competencies essential for successful 21st century organizations, and must be so much more than just a dot.com event.

Joseph Persanelli, GPHR Senior Manager, Global Mobility Advisory Services, KPMG LLP

Obtaining data on global mobility practices is not nearly as difficult as it used to be.  However, organizations can struggle with finding the story in benchmarking results that are meaningful for their own programs.  This session will provide insights and ideas when interpreting and applying benchmarking results to have relevant and meaningful impacts to global mobility programs.

Pablo Weisz, Regional Security Manager, International SOS and Control Risks
In this session, FEM members will discuss global mobility’s role in keeping their expatriates safe and secure including:

• What are the best practices for preparing your expatriates?
• What is the global mobility professional’s role in keeping their expatriates safe while on assignment?
• How does Duty of Care fit in with expatriates and their families?
• What are key strategies to implement once you get back to the office?
• Why are qualified providers so important?

Sandra Howell, Director of Compensation & Global Mobility, Kraft foods
Andrew J. Kittell, Director of Corporate Relations, ACS International Schools
Jean Mann, Director of Marketing & Client Relations, School Choice International
Kelly McGill, Senior Director of HR,  Microsoft

Choosing an international school can be a make or break decision for any expatriate assignment.  But how do you select the school that best fits your assignees requirements?

This is a unique opportunity to hear leading educators discuss the practicalities and pitfalls of international schooling.

Jennifer L. Harvey, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, Crown World Mobility
Howard B. Schiffer, President and Founder, Vitamin Angels

Making the world work better from a business perspective is important; but making the world work better to improve quality of life everywhere brings true success.
Through employee mobility, many organizations bring together people of varying cultures and socio-economic standing.  Often this means sending "haves" to locations to live amongst "have-nots.”  This disparity may not be a bad thing, however, if assignees and their organizations make choices that support the communities where they live and work.  By finding innovative ways to engage assignees, leverage corporate competencies, and partner with non-profit groups, like Vitamin Angels, employers can ensure a genuine positive impact on its markets.  This will, in turn, benefit both the organization and its assignees.

See real-world examples of how international corporations, assignees and non-profit organizations, like Vitamin Angels, work together.  Learn how you and your company can make a difference to make the world work better.

Return on Investment and retaining top talent

Berna Anderson, Director of Global Mobility, AECOM
Sarah Ericson, Manager of Human Resources, CSG International
Sandra Howell, Director of Compensation & Global Mobility, Kraft foods
Robert Lesser, Morgan Stanley (Retired)
Lusine Meeks, Vice President of Global Shared Services, Alliance Data

In this session FEM corporate members will discuss Global Mobility’s role in retaining top talent and ensuring return on investment including:

• Is Global Mobility seen as a Talent Management Tool?
• Is talent management involved in the selection process?
• Do you have a talent pool from which potential assignees are selected?
• How far into the future is an employee’s career proactively managed?
• How do you ensure an assignee does not leave the organization once they have repatriated? How is their global experience put to good use?
• How do you measure ROI?
• How do you encourage diversity at an executive level?