Global immigration services firm Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy (Fragomen) in October 2019 released the 2019 edition of its Worldwide Immigration Trends Report. Among the key takeaways of the report that covers Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America: Migration has fueled a resurgence of nationalist political movements and anti-immigration policies. Many countries will continue to struggle to develop the technology necessary to

To understand how healthy a food is, we generally look at its components – carbohydrates, fats and proteins, or the vitamins, minerals and other substances it may contain. But this purely “nutritional” vision overlooks one property that’s a key part of a food’s health potential – its structure. For example, serving a child a breakfast cereal made up of whole wheat or rice may seem like a good idea, but research shows that processing can significantly impact its nutritive qualities. Extrusion-cooking or puffing can transform wheat and rice into primarily a source of sugars that the child’s body rapidly absorbs, and many of the nutritive values of the original grains are lost.

The human body needs a tiny amount of sodium to function properly and this is typically found in salt (sodium chloride). But today most people consume way too much salt, increasing the burden of cardiovascular disease around the world. Health professionals have been trying to tackle this problem for decades, but face several barriers, including research that muddies the water about what safe levels of salt intake are. This has cast unnecessary doubt on the importance of reducing intakes. But our latest research has found flaws in these studies and suggests that salt intake should be reduced even further than current recommendations.

It isn’t surprising that employers are looking for ways to improve the health and engagement of their employees when their challenges are so evident: Medical inflation rates continue to be high globally, with the 2019 global average being 7.8%, reported by Aon1. Indeed, in many countries, this is much higher, even exceeding the local inflation rate by double-digit percentage points.

Brussels-based lobby CBBA-Europe in October 2019 announced its Annual Conference, to be held on November 13 and 14, 2019, in Brussels, Belgium. This year’s conference theme is “The New Social and Employee Benefits’ Environment between Challenges & Innovation”. November 13 is about Pensions and Investments (9am – 5pm) November 14 will deal with Healthcare, mental health and other benefits (9am – 12 noon). Participants include E.U. Institutions, EIOPA, OECD,

1967: IGP was founded with Ford as its first Client In the 1960s, Ford began to expand globally, and Ford of Europe was established in 1967. At the time, Ford was the largest domestic client of John Hancock’s Group Insurance Division. The concept of multinational pooling did exist at the time, though it was not widely practiced. Ford and John Hancock collaborated on the possibility of reinsuring and pooling the employee benefits plans of Ford’s overseas operations.

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