Deloitte in April 2019 released its Global Human Capital Trends report for 2019. The theme of the report is “Leading the social enterprise—Reinvent with a human focus” and the report examines the challenges organizations face to reinvent the ways in which they engage with their stakeholders. The report cites “intensifying economic, social, and political issues,” as the driving factor in this need for change and states: “After nearly 10

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in April 2019 announced that Carrie Burns has been named Director, Health and Benefits, and based in Washington D.C. Burns was previously Client Relationship Director at WTW, and based in the Richmond, Virginia, area, as well as a Senior Vice President and Director of Human Operations, Human Capital Practice, in Glen Allen, Virginia. She joined WTW in 2002 as a marketing manager. Previous to joining

Johnson Controls, Munich division, in April 2019 announced the promotion of Markus Enzner to Executive Director, Total Rewards, from Senior Director. Enzner has been with Johnson Controls since March 2013 when he joined the company as Senior Manager Compensation & Benefits EMEA. Previously, he was Senior Expert in the Center of Excellence (CoE) for Compensation and Benefits at Deutsche Post, and Senior Manager HR Compensation and Benefits for McDonald’s.

Swiss insurer Baloise in April 2019 said it is acquiring the Belgian insurer Fidea for 480 million euros ($543 million) from China’s state-controlled Anbang Insurance Group to boost its position in the Belgian non-life and life insurance market. The acquisition of Antwerp-based Fidea means that Baloise will employ around 1,600 employees in Belgium. Baloise said the deal will increase its share of the non-life business in Belgium by 1.7

BHP announced the appointment of Mhar Anthony Trabado as Global Mobility Specialist for North and Central America. Trabado comes to BHP from a position as Senior Global Assignment Consultant for SIRVA Worldwide Relocation & Moving, and Regional Mobility Consultant for Crown World Mobility, based in Singapore. He was also an International Assignment Consultant for Cartus, and Global Mobility Consultant, Asia Pacific, CIS, Middle East, for Amec Foster Wheeler. He

Giesecke+Devrient in April 2019 announced the promotion of Tina Lilios to Head, Competence Center Human Resources, and Senior HR Business Partner C-IT. She will be based in Munich, Germany. She was previously a senior HR business partner with the company. Lilios came to Geisecke+Devrient from Sandoz, Holzkirchen, Germany, where she served as HR Business Partner Global Support Functions, and head of HR Tech Ops Finance and Transformation, as well

The agenda of the 8th World Pensions Forum, held at The Brussels Grand–Place, 23-24 May 2019, and organized in association with the European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP) now is finalized. The forum will focus on pension and retirement governance, pension law and regulation, long-term investment and risk management in the “Post-Brexit Era”. Plenary panels include: a discussion of the latest advances in the field of ESG and Impact

Luxembourg-based captive manager Sogecore in April 2019 acquired Abacus Risk Management Services in Malta. Abacus manages and operates captives and insurance carriers on behalf of their owners; it also offers Protected Cell Company (PCC) services. What is a PCC? A PCC is essentially a slice of a single insurance or reinsurance carrier that operates separately from other such slices in the same carrier. The carrier’s license and support functions

UK rewards and benefits consulting firm Benefex in April 2019 announced the appointment of Stephen Hackett to the position of Head of Corporate Benefits, based in Southampton, UK. Hackett joins Benefex after a previous position as Director, Employer Services, for Broadstone Corporate Benefits in London. He was also Head of Health & Risk proposition for Aon Employee Benefits in London. He has held other leadership positions at Capita Employee

Safran Seats, a French suppliers of aircraft seats for passengers, crews and helicopters, in April 2019 announced that Emma Voisin has joined the company as Director of Compensation and Benefits. Voisin was previously with Orano, most recently as Global C&B and International Mobility Manager. She also served in Global Compensation & Benefits, C&B International Mobility advisor, and Expatriate/Impatriate Coordinator. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications Science, Communication, HR,

The UK government in April 2019 published practical guidance on social security contributions for UK and EU internationally-mobile workers in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal. This guidance also includes actions UK employers would need to take for outbound employees to the EU. This follows draft legislation published in December 2018 by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) regarding the UK’s proposals to

Alcon in April 2019 announced it had added Sahil Batra to its staff as Senior Asia Benefits Manager, based in Singapore. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Alcon is a global eye care provider. It was founded in Fort Worth, Texas; Fort Worth still is “a major operational, commercial, and innovation hub”. According to the company’s website, Alcon is “the largest eye care device company in the world” and has “complementary

According to information prepared by Deloitte UK in April 2019, the UK government has published practical guidance on the social security contributions position for UK and EU internationally mobile workers if the UK leaves the EU without a deal and actions UK employers would then need to take for UK outbound assignees to the EU. This follows on from draft legislation published by the Department of Work and Pensions

Mercer in April 2019 announced the promotion of Alana Rae to Senior Associate, based in Edinburgh. Her areas of expertise include providing consulting advice and managing broking activity on international risk and medical plans. Rae began her career at Mercer as an international benefits analyst based in London and moved up to assistant lead for Mercer’s Centre of Excellence for Mobility Benefits (EuroPac) in London. She relocated to Edinburgh

The flag carrier airline of the Netherlands, KLM, in April 2019 announced the promotion of Albert Smidt to Senior Consultant, Pensions & Insurable Benefits, effective in May. He was previously a consultant in the same division. Prior to joining KLM, Smidt was Consultant Consensys for Fortis Bank (Nederland) where he served in an advisory role working with corporate clients on their employee benefits. Previous to that, he was Senior

Aon in April 2019 that Sven Roelandt has joined their Antwerp, Belgium office as Global Expert for Employee Benefits Financing Strategies & Carrier Relations. Roelandt comes to Aon from Further Financial Services in Madrid, Spain, where he served as Director of Employee Benefits. Previous to that, he was with General Employee Benefits where he served as Regional Manager WEMEA, and Area Manager Nordics and Benelux.  He was also Regional

A report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in April 2019, Under Pressure: The Squeezed Middle Class, suggests that governments need to do more to support middle-class households who are struggling to maintain their economic weight and lifestyles as their stagnating incomes fail to keep up with the rising costs of housing and education. This new analysis “delivers a bleak picture and a call for

Aegon Nederland in April 2019 appointed Annemarie Vanhommerig to their Compensation and Benefits division in The Hague, Netherlands. Vanhommerig comes to Aegon from Accenture after 11 years in various positions, most recently as country lead for Compensation and Benefits in Amsterdam.bShe also served as Benelux specialty coordinator Mobility, and Mobility country lead NL, and was a member of their Accenture Works Council. She holds a Master’s degree in Business

It may sound as if the journalist corps in April 2019 successfully plotted to keep the never-ending story alive, but the fact is, the Brexit saga has been given a new lease of life on the eve of one of its many potential endings. That particular ending would have been an unhappy one, but still who cares… So, what does the new episode look like? Well, the updated decision

Filip Sulmon has been named Head, International Mobility, as of March 2019 according to the Switzerland-based company LafargeHolcim, a global leader in building materials and solutions. Sulmon was previously head of Global Mobility for Infosys Consulting in Zurich, as well as Etihad Airways before joining Infosys. Prior to that he was Expat Tax Manager, Global Mobility Manager, and Tax Compensation Manager (EMEA Region) for United Parcel Service based in

Whirlpool Corporation in March 2019 appointed Samantha (Samie) Moore. Samie will lead the Benefits Center of Excellence, partnering with the regions to develop a global benefits strategy and adapt a culture of health at a local level. Moore comes to Whirlpool which is based in Benton Harbor, Michigan, from Milliman’s health and welfare benefits consulting practice, where she was a senior health and welfare consultant. She has also been

U.S. benefits broker and service provider OneDigital announced in March, 2019, that Mark Juneau has been named Vice President of Global Benefits. Juneau comes to OneDigital from San Francisco, CA-based Alliant Employee Benefits, where he was a senior vice president. Previous to his four years with Alliant, Juneau was with Mercer as a benefits consultant, principal, and ASEAN Retirement Business Leader. Juneau holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in March 2019 released the ninth edition of Society at a Glance, the biennial OECD overview of social indicators. The full report can be accessed here. This edition of the report addresses the growing demand for quantitative evidence on social well-being and its trends, and focuses on LGBT groups (lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender) and their lack of acceptance in

Kathy Farmer has been promoted to Vice President, Global Benefits, for Levi Strauss & Co., as of March 2019. Ms. Farmer was formerly Senior Director Global Benefits at Levi Strauss for six years. Ms. Farmer joined Levi Strauss & Co. in 2013 after serving as Total Rewards Principal Consultant with The Clorox Company, where she designed and deployed global solutions for the Total Rewards practice with a focus on

Global Benefits Vision announces an update to its highly successful Directory of Global Employee Benefits and Global Mobility Providers. The new edition can be browsed online and downloaded as a PDF. If you would like to be considered for free-of-charge inclusion in the Directory, email olivia@gbvmag.com for your Information Pack and Data Form.

Willis Towers Watson announced in March 2019 that Laurie Paillat has been promoted to Associate Director, based in Paris, France. Ms. Paillat joined WTW after serving as Global Benefits Manager for Criteo, a Paris-based software company. Prior to that, she was an employee benefits expert for EMEAR, Dassault Systèmes, based near Paris. She has also been a pension consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers in London and Paris, and an actuary and

American International Group (AIG) in April 2019 announced it had sold its entire stake in People Insurance Co. of China (PICC) for HK$3.8 billion (US$482 million). AIG had bought into PICC as a “cornerstone investor” in its initial public offering in December 2012. According to Bloomberg, AIG made a 1.75% profit including dividends over the six years, when Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index generated a total return of