Only a few weeks after Dutch telecommunications firm Vimpel and U.S.-based engineering software editor PTC in February 2016 entered into settlements with U.S. authorities in relation to allegations of corruption, telecommunication hardware provider Qualcomm in early March 2016 agreed to pay $ 7.5 million to settle charges under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Both PTC’s and Qualcomm’s illegal dealings were with corrupt Chinese government officials, whereas Vimpel got

After its acquisition and renaming in April 2015 of the ING global benefits network, AIG launches in February 2016 its new AIG Global Benefits Network website . The new website describes AIG GBN’s product offering: multinational pooling and employee benefits captive arrangements. The list of local insurance carriers, members of AIG GBN, as well as rather detailed definitions of all components of the international dividend calculation are also provided

Only one day after PTC announced at $28 million settlement with U.S. authorities in a bribery case involving China, Dutch telecom operator of Russian origin VimpelCom announced settlements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission , the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) following investigations under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and relevant Dutch laws, pertaining to VimpelCom’s business in Uzbekistan, where

Two units of U.S.-based engineering software company PTC will pay a total of $28 million (USD) to resolve probes into whether they gave more than $1 million in recreational travel to foreign government officials from China, in a probable violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission said in February 2016. NASDAQ-listed PTC has 6,000 employees in 30 countries

MAXIS Global Benefits Network will broadcast a webinar on February 24 and 25, 2016, titled “Enhancing the Employee Value Proposition in China and India,” and based on MetLife’s Employee Benefit Trends Study. As Asian economies and businesses mature, maintaining a highly productive workforce becomes more difficult in these markets. The webinar will help employers understand employee motivators in China and in India, including the role of a total rewards

Zenefits, a San Francisco-based software startup recently valued at a whopping USD 4.5 billion, then revalued down to USD 2.3 billion, said in February 2016 it had replaced founder and CEO Parker Conrad with its former chief operating officer David Sacks, previously an executive at Yammer and PayPal. The company provides software for small and medium-sized businesses that automates some of their human resources services, including healthcare benefits, stock

IGP hosts the Americas regional version of its international employee benefits seminar in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on September 15, 2016. During the seminar, HR professionals, C&B specialists, Risk Managers and Finance Executives of all levels have the opportunity to discuss past, current and future employee benefits trends with industry specialists and their peers. A mix of country panels with a focus on the Americas is provided, along with topical

IGP hosts the Asia-Pacific regional version of its international employee benefits seminar in Singapore on September 29, 2016. During the seminar, HR professionals, C&B specialists, Risk Managers and Finance Executives of all levels have the opportunity to discuss past, current and future employee benefits trends with industry specialists and their peers. A mix of country panels with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region is provided, along with topical plenary

IGP hosts the EMEA regional version of its international employee benefits seminar in Windsor, U.K. from May 24 to 26, 2016. Windsor is located 40 km to the West of London. During the seminar, HR professionals, C&B specialists, Risk Managers and Finance Executives of all levels have the opportunity to discuss past, current and future employee benefits trends with industry specialists and their peers. A mix of country panels

IGP hosts an event aimed at Malaysian subsidiaries and advisors in Penang, Malaysia on Wednesday on April 27, 2016. The programme includes an introduction to pooling and other topical sessions about employee benefits trends. There is no fee to attend. More information and registration here.

IGP hosts an event aimed at Malaysian subsidiaries and advisors in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday on April 26, 2016. The programme includes an introduction to pooling and other topical sessions about employee benefits trends. There is no fee to attend. More information and registration here.  

IGP hosts an event aimed at Indonesian subsidiaries and advisors at Manulife’s offices in Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. The programme includes an introduction to pooling and other topical sessions about employee benefits trends. There is no fee to attend. More information and registration here.

IGP hosts an event aimed at Colombian subsidiaries and advisors at Club El Nogal in Bogota, Colombia in the morning of Thursday, February 11, 2016. The programme includes an introduction to pooling and other topical sessions about employee benefits trends. There is no fee to attend. More information and registration here.

Did we lose our focus on global employee benefits? Hopefully not! In fact, global employee benefits do include insurance and assistance services pertaining to international travel, so we thought you might be interested in hearing this fascinating news from one of our adjacent industries, travel, as reported in February 2016 by B2B website travelmarketreport.com . Available as a mobile phone app, OneGo offers unlimited U.S. domestic flights on plans

Marco Fattori has taken over the leadership of the account management team as Head of Account Management. In this new position he will be leading the client service teams of Allianz Global Benefits around the world. He will directly report to François Jacquemin, Head of Products & Solutions. Prior to this Marco Fattori has worked as an Account Manager since February 2014, servicing multinational corporations and global brokers in

Barry Perkins has been appointed Regional Director U.K., with responsibility for client management and sales activities. Barry will be relocating to London and will report to Dirk Hellmuth, CEO of Allianz Global Benefits. Before his new position, Barry was Head of Account & Tender Management in the head office of Allianz Global Benefits in Munich, in charge of client service delivery and the operational management of the client teams

GBV magazine published this candid interview of Guy Abbiss, the managing partner of London-based lawyers Abbiss Cadres and one of the founding members of the CELIA Alliance, a global network of law firms, in the December 2015 issue, now available as a free downloadable PDF here. Abbiss Cadres LLP specializes in tax and social security, employment law, and employee incentives as well as broader HR consulting and communications services.

Lockton Global Benefits is hosting its annual Global Benefits Forum in three locations in 2016: Chicago, London and Singapore, responding to a growing trend among corporations to reduce travel by employees. Regardless, in-person meetings and conferences are still irreplaceable for focused learning and for networking; hence, industry conferences are a good investment of time and money for global employee benefits practitioners and experts alike. The theme of each Forum

Lockton Global Benefits is hosting its annual Global Benefits Forum in three locations in 2016: Chicago, London and Singapore, responding to a growing trend among corporations to reduce travel by employees. Regardless, in-person meetings and conferences are still irreplaceable for focused learning and for networking; hence, industry conferences are a good investment of time and money for global employee benefits practitioners and experts alike. The theme of each Forum

Lockton Global Benefits is hosting its annual Global Benefits Forum in three locations in 2016: Chicago, London and Singapore, responding to a growing trend among corporations to reduce travel by employees. Regardless, in-person meetings and conferences are still irreplaceable for focused learning and for networking; hence, industry conferences are a good investment of time and money for global employee benefits practitioners and experts alike. The theme of each Forum

IGP hosts an event aimed at Korean subsidiaries of Japanese multinationals at Samsung Life’s offices in Seoul, Korea in the afternoon of Friday 19, 2016. Held in Japanese, the 3-hour workshop includes an introduction to pooling and labor law and human resources management in Korea. There is no attendance fee and the deadline for registering is February 12, 2016. Link : IGP Seminar website

Willis and Towers Watson completed their merger in early January 2016 and became Willis Towers Watson (WTW). The go-ahead decision on the USD 18 billion deal was made by shareholders in an early December 2015 vote, after the terms were changed in several increments during the preceding five months as Towers Watson shareholders were unhappy with the terms offered. Driven by both firms’ management, the deal had been announced

European Union authorities signal a stronger commitment towards furthering the integration of private pension systems across Europe and extending the single market to insurance and pensions. In November 2015, the European Commission highlighted efforts by a number of countries in reforming their first-pillar pension systems, especially in the view of increased longevity. At the same time, it insisted that further steps needed to be taken by member states to

Medical inflation appears to have slowed down in the U.S. in 2015, the average increase of health care rates for mid-size and large employers was 3.2% against 4.4% in 2014 and an expected 4.1% in 2016. Lower utilization levels due to reduced purchasing power of individuals and lower increases in medical prices contribute to this modest and perhaps temporary slow-down. The average total health care cost per employee, including

Ludovic Bayard, formerly Chief commercial officer of Generali’s GEB unit, is promoted to the position of general manager, effective December 1, 2015. This is one of the outcomes of a comprehensive strategic review of GEB’s operations conducted in the second half of 2015, involving Generali’s top executives up to and including the group’s Group management committee. Other decisions pertaining to GEB’s strategy will be announced in early 2016. At

Global composite insurer Zurich in December 2015 announced the appointment of Gary Shaughnessy as CEO Global Life as well as to the Group Executive Committee. He succeeds Kristof Terryn who was appointed CEO of Zurich General Insurance in October 2015 and still acted as interim CEO for the Global Life unit (see here). Mr. Shaughnessy has been CEO of Zurich U.K. Life since June 2012; in 2014 he assumed

Frank A. Schmid is the new Head of AIG’s Group Benefits business and of the Disability Product Center of Excellence, GBV learned in December 2015. Frank holds a PhD in economics and a post-doc in finance from the University of Lüneburg, Germany. Dr. Schmid published numerous scholarly papers in finance and economics and was affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Vienna, Free University of Berlin, CERGE-EI