MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN) in October 2019 launched its Wellness Intelligence Tool (WIT), a digital service that helps organizations estimate potential medical cost savings resulting from changes in employee behaviors and lifestyles. The tool helps organizations quantify the impact that behavior change could have on the health and productivity of employees. The tool was developed by MAXIS GBN in partnership with actuarial consultancy Habits at Work. Integrated

Next Insurance, a digital insurance company that focuses on small businesses, in October 2019 raised USD 250m from Munich Re. The Palo Alto, California-based, 3-year old startup became a licensed insurance carrier, shedding its brokerage business model, in August 2018. The capital raise will fund the development of new products and of customer initiatives. Next Insurance offers a wide range of insurance products, including including general liability; professional liability;

The European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP), in October 2019 announced the final program of its Annual Conference. The 2019 edition of the event is devoted to the Interaction of the Social Dialogue with the Paritarian Model: Added Value in a Changing Labor Market. The event will take place in a convenient half-day format in the morning of 06 November 2019 in Brussels, Belgium. The venue is the Square

Aon in August 2019 issued a white paper entitled Prevention is Better Than Cure, which addresses the growing awareness of employee wellbeing. The paper encourages employers to understand the business rationale behind employee wellbeing in order to help gain best outcomes. The Aon white paper shows that 95% of employers see a correlation between employee health and performance, and believe they have a role in trying to educate and

MAXIS Global Benefits Network in August 2019 announced the appointment of Aaron Brown to the new role of Regional Manager UK & Ireland. Aaron will be reporting to David Schupak, Regional Director, Western Europe, Middle East & Africa, and leading a team of seven employee benefits experts who work with MAXIS GBN’s strategic partners (brokers, consultants and local member insurers) to develop employee benefit solutions for UK and Irish

Generali Employee Benefits (GEB) in October 2019 announced the promotion of Christian Keller to Head of the newly created Marketing and Distribution department, based in Luxembourg. Christian previously was the Regional Manager EMEA – Central Europe for GEB. His earlier positions were with Allianz and included Regional Director Germany/ Switzerland/ Austria and southern Europe at Allianz Global Benefits; CEO of My Finance Coach Stiftung, an Allianz subsidiary; Managing Director

Aon in October 2019 announced it has developed services to fill gaps identified in the UK’s Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) provision. Mental Health First Aid courses are commonplace in workplaces throughout the UK, yet research from the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) highlights serious pitfalls for employers who wish to implement MHFA without a wider strategy or who do not take the care of the MH

MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN) in October 2019 announced that its OneClient service now provides access to a new suite of interactive dashboards and web applications to help multinationals identify employee benefits spending and healthcare priorities that aid decision-making and cost management. One of the key new features of the OneClient portal is an interactive pooling dashboard that allows multinational pooling clients to better understand their pool performance

The Randstad Workmonitor Global Report has been released for Q3, 2019, revealing the latest local and global trends in mobility over time. The report shows data relating to migration, diversity, job satisfaction, and job change appetite, as well as personal motivation based on a rotating set of themed questions. Some highlights of the report include data that shows: 64% of respondents would consider emigrating if they can improve their

Global broker Gallagher in September 2019 announced the appointment of Antonia Feldman as a Senior International Benefits Analyst in Gallagher’s Research & Publications department. She will be working on GVISOR with focus primarily on the EMEA region. She has experience in global employee benefits and has previously worked as a Market Intelligence Research Associate and Global Benefits Researcher for Willis Towers Watson. She began her career as Communications Specialist

German IT firm Retarus announced the appointment of Valeska Spindler as HR Manager International, based in Munich, Germany. She joins Retarus from broker Profion where she worked as HR & Benefits Consultant for international corporate clients, after starting her career in the same company as Executive Management Assistant and Consultant for HR Services. Valeska holds a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) in International Business from Hochschule Heilbronn, Germany, with a

Aleksandra Klaic in September 2019 joined the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as head of Global Rewards, based in Geneva, Switzerland. She joins the ICRC from Sanofi where she was Head of Compensation and Benefits for the Consumer Healthcare division; M&A and Head of Benefits for the Asia, Japan-Pacific, AMEE (Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe), and Latin America regions; and International Benefits Manager. Prior to Sanofi,

Internet registrar and web hosting firm GoDaddy in September 2019 announced the appointment of Yasemin Sezgin as their new Director Compensation & Benefits EMEA, based in London, UK. Yasemin joins from Fox International Channels where she was Director Compensation & Benefits for Europe & Africa. Prior to Fox, she worked for Yıldız Holding as Head of Global Reward and HRIS; Goodyear Lastikleri as Compensation & Benefits Manager; Nestle Turkey

Caroline Bohan in September 2019 was promoted Associate Director, Compensation and Benefits, at Dublin, Ireland-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals. She previously was Senior Manager, Compensation and Benefits, at Jazz. Earlier in her career, she worked for Deloitte Ireland as Reward and Benefits Manager; Boots Ireland as Reward Manager; Novartis as Regional HR Services Expert in Dublin;  Alkermes as Compensation Analyst and Systems Administrator; Elan as HR Associate, Compensation & Benefits; Bank

For its landmark 50th edition, the 2020 IBIS Academy will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 11 to May 15, 2020. Further details will be announced shortly and in the meantime a contact form is provided for any inquiries.   Looking forward to covering the event, this publication cannot resist the temptation to list all 49 previous venues: 2019 Milan, Italy 2018 Berlin, Germany 2017 Cannes, France 2016

Gallagher in August 2019 announced the appointment of Christine L. Hoehne, GPHR, CEBS as Area Senior Vice President in Global Benefits & HR Consulting. She joins Gallagher from Swiss Life Global Solutions where she was Vice President and Regional Director at Swiss Life Network. Previously, she had worked for Arthur J. Gallagher as Area Vice President, Multinational Benefits & HR Consulting for the Western Region; Lockton as Assistant Vice

Saudi insurance carrier Tawuniya in September 2019 announced the appointment of Sulaiman Al Amri as Head of Brokers Management and International Partnerships. Sulaiman joins Tawuniya from Willis Towers Watson where he was Executive Director for Riyadh and Jeddah; Branch Manager in Riyadh; and Health and Benefits Manager in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Previously, he worked for AXA as Customer Service Manager in Riyadh; American Express as Unit Head Corporate Service

Save the date ! Europe Day of the German construction industry 2019 The German provident fund for the construction industry, SOKA-BAU, on the afternoon of Tuesday 5 November 2019 organizes its “Europe Day 2019”, a half-day conference on “Vocational training for a digital labor market”. In addition to the requirements for sustainable vocational training, the reorientation of the European Social Fund (ESF) program will be a focus of the

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in September 2019 announced the promotion of Sylvie Girbal to Rewards Offer Leader, based in Paris, France. She previously was Associate Director – Rewards at WTW in Paris. Earlier in her career, she worked as Rewards Manager for TV channel TF1; Compensation and Benefits Manager at retailer Marionnaud ; Compensation and Benefits Specialist at Groupe Casino; Rewards Consultant at Towers Watson; HR controller at Klépierre

The 2019 edition of the European Association of Paritarian Institutions‘ (AEIP) annual conference will be held in the morning of 6 November 2019 in Brussels, Belgium. This year’s topic is: Social Dialogue and the Paritarian Model: Added Value in a Changing Labor Market. Panel 1: European labor market trends and the future of work – What implications for social protection systems? Panel 2: Re-thinking existing models for social change

Sina Gayot in September 2019 was promoted Total Rewards Senior Manager EMEA at biotech company Lonza, based in Basel, Switzerland. She previously was Total Rewards Partner EMEA at Lonza. Earlier in her career, she worked her way up from HR Assistant for Corporate Functions to Expert Global Benefits at Syngenta. Previously, she had been with Novartis as a Training Event Planner; Fairmont-Raffles-Swissotel as HR Manager; and Maybourne Hotel Group

The Washington, D.C.-based National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in September 2019 published a working paper, The Impact of Brexit on UK Firms, authored by Nicholas Bloom, Philip Bunn, Scarlet Chen, Paul Mizen, Pawel Smietanka, and Gregory Thwaites. The authors identify three key results from a survey of UK firms, the Decision Maker Panel. According to the abstract of the 59-page article: “First, the UK’s decision to leave the

Sao Paolo, Brazil-based broker Harmonia Corretora de Seguros in September 2019 promoted Ana Carolina Lima Conduta Izzo to Vice President of Health and Benefits. Harmonia is part of the Howden Broking Group. Ana Carolina previously was Harmonia’s Director of Benefits, a position she retains. She holds a post-graduate degree in Dental Implants from Universidade de São Paulo, in Sao Paolo, Brazil; and attended the Program for Management Development at

Jennifer Arms Hamilton in September 2019 joined Sequoia Consulting Group as Director of Global Consulting. Her previous positions include Lockton, where she was a Global Benefits Consultant; Zurich North America as a Regional Benefit Executive and a Business Analyst; she began her career as an Account Representative for multinational pooling network Insurope. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Russian, Central European, East European and Eurasian Studies from

Generali in September 2019 implemented a new organization for its Generali Country Italy and Global Business Lines division. The business unit includes multinational pooling network Generali Employee Benefits (GEB) and Generali Global Health (GGH). The full press release is available here. Marco Sesana, Country Manager & CEO of Generali Italia and Global Business Lines, intends to focus on international corporate business development with a “new, faster and more agile

Sleep tech company Shleep in August 2019 raised €1.4M to further develop its digital B2B sleep coaching platform. The VCs include Global Founders Capital, and Health Innovations. Shleep’s clients include The Huffington Post, Deloitte and Spotify. Shleep is the first science-based sleep coaching platform for companies, created by Dr. Els van der Helm and Jöran Albers, and their team of sleep PhDs, health experts and software engineers. According to

MAXIS Global Benefits Network in August 2019 launched a new analytics-led report that is the first of its type in the market. The Population Health and Risk Stratification report is meant for global and multinational organizations that want to significantly improve the impact of their employee health and wellness initiatives. The report also helps companies mitigate the cost drivers of medical claims and employee benefits programs. The report allows