Annual Conference 2020 - Call for Speakers
Thursday 1st October 2020
etc.venues, 155 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3YD
This year’s conference content will be assembled around a central theme of ‘Together Towards Tomorrow’. Our aim in setting an overall theme is firstly to help set share plans in a broader context and secondly, to set the scene for the inclusion of content on emerging and topical subjects with an impact on share plans.
Employee share ownership (‘ESO’) started life more than a hundred years ago as a means of sharing wealth between the owners of capital and the providers of labour. That ESO has evolved and endured to this day is testament to its power to align interests and share success and build camaraderie amongst global workforces. In challenging times and an ever-changing world, what role could ESO now play in rebuilding global economies and can share plans support business and empower workforce communities?”
A list of suggested break-out session topics follows. As ever, these are only suggestions so please feel free to put forward other ideas too. This year delegates will have a choice of 23 break-out sessions, each 35 minutes long. There will be a morning and an afternoon plenary, both 40 minutes long. We will offer interactive features to speakers and audiences alike in the form of polls accessed through our conference app – so do please consider using these in the context of your presentations.
Plan issuer case studies are very welcome, as they bring to life the challenges and opportunities encountered in the real world, offering great examples of best practice to delegates. In a tight choice between speaker submissions, having plan issuer speaker(s) confirmed could give your submission the edge over others.
In previous years we have been oversubscribed for speaking slots, which is a nice problem to have, but still a problem! The number of excellent speakers always outstrips the break-out space available at any of our conference venues, regardless of size and configuration. If we can’t fit your proposed session into the conference schedule then we may suggest a webinar or a roundtable discussion to you, as an alternative way of giving great topics and engaging speakers the opportunity to engage with ProShare’s growing audience.
Many thanks for your support for and interest in our conference.
Suggested topics
| Global issues impacting UK listed plan issuers |
| Changing work practices and how share plans keep everyone working toward the same goals |
| AGM season in review – what next for RemCos and discretionary plan design? |
| Tackling inequality – pay ratios, gender pay gap reporting |
| Internationally mobile employees – new technologies for tracking and reporting for tax purposes |
| Managing the communications mix – harnessing the best of digital without disenfranchising paper preferences |
| Sector-specific share plans case studies – banking & finance / retail / manufacturing / big pharma / tech |
| Financial education in practice – case studies on different approaches to delivery |
| Demographic/generational changes in the workforce and associated challenges |
| Augmented Reality, videos and social media & share plans communication |
| Removing barriers to share plan participation |
| Global compliance – getting it right first time, every time |
| Fostering inclusivity via your share plan through eradicating unconscious bias and encouraging participation |
| Share plans & parental leave – how should share plans evolve to keep pace with employment laws? |
| Approaches to Shares Valuation in private companies |
| Diversification in difficult times |
| Shareholder rights in the UK and beyond |
| Quantifying the impact of employee share plans on companies’ financial and stock market performance |
| The ‘hot seat’ – RemCo chairs and committees, the role of remuneration consultants and plan design |
| Use of share plans at IPO and with other types of corporate transaction – plan issuer case studies |
| Addressing the UK productivity problem – do share plans have a part to play making Britain great again ? |
| The rise of the robots – should we fear or welcome their input? What might it mean for share plans? |
| Malus & clawback in practice – case studies & lessons learnt |
| SMEs & unlisted companies – case studies on how (and why) they operate plans and internal markets |
| Demographic change and the future of the workplace |
| Charitable donations via share plans – best practice in facilitating charitable donations by employees |
| Using tech to tackle the challenges around financial reporting for share-based payments |
| How to promote a plan in a falling market |
| Life after Brexit – what next for share plans & pan-European employee share ownership? |
| Employee, worker, contractor…shareholder? |
| Employee activity at maturity/vest – trends analysis |
| Creativity and its role in share plan design and communications |
| The FX effect…how to manage currency (and share price) volatility in the context of global all-employee plans |
| Financial Education and the importance of employees understanding their benefits |
| Time for change – what would you change about your share plan and why would this make a difference? |
| Investors’ governance priorities – less carrot, more stick? |
| Day-to-day in-house share plans practice – getting it all done |
| The role of the RemCo & advisors, RemCo discretion |
| The fallout from the collapse of firms for employees, and their share plans |
| Can share plans really impact the economy? |
| How do share plans encourage a joined-up workforce |
| Life after Covid-19 for share plans – what have we learned and what have we changed |
| Share Plans – A force for change? |