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

Swiss Re in August 2019 announced it had acquired the UK closed book business of Quilter. The acquisition was made through Swiss Re’s specialized subsidiary ReAssure and includes Old Mutual Wealth Life Assurance and Old Mutual Wealth Pensions Trustees. Quilter is mostly comprised of companies belonging to the former Old Mutual group. It is active in investment consulting and asset management (GBP 45 billion in assets under management –

Robert “Bob” Reiff in July 2019 became senior vice president of distribution for Lincoln Financial Group’s group protection business in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2015, he had taken on the role of President of Lockton Benefit Group, the company’s national employee benefits practice, after being Chief Operating Officer of their St. Louis operation. Prior to joining Lockton, Bob was with The Hartford as Vice President and Director of Distribution

American International Group (AIG) in July 2019 announced that it has appointed Jennifer Waldner to the newly created a position of Chief Sustainability Officer. She will lead the development and implementation of a company-wide sustainability strategy, reporting to Thomas B. Leonardi, AIG’s Executive Vice President and Vice Chair, AIG Life Holdings. Ms. Waldner will lead a “cross-functional team to drive global sustainability initiatives while influencing and mobilizing the execution

Expat provider AES International has announced that Colin Ward will be Director of Employee Benefits as of June 2019. He will be based in Dubai. Based in London, UK, AES International is a global financial firm that focuses on “helping expats protect & build wealth”. Ward was previously Corporate Sales Director for Pacific Prime in the UAE. Previous to that, he was International Sales Manager for William Russell Limited

Debenhams, a British multinational retailer based in London, in July 2019 named Sarah Purnell as Head of Rewards. Purnell comes to Debenhams from the Arcadia Group, where she was Group Reward Manager, and Travelport, where she was Director, Compensation and Benefits. Prior to that she was Senior Compensation and Benefits Manager for Lucazed Ribena Suntory, Uxbridge, UK, and Head of UK Reward & Benefits for Tesco. She began her

In the July 2019 issue Leena Johns MD on Workplace Culture – Dr. Leena Johns Protecting Employees on The Move – Andy Wood R&D: Long Hours Increase Chances of A Stroke – Libby Sander R&D: Salt, China’s Deadly Food Habit – Monique Tan R&D: Body Organs Most at Risk During A Heatwave – Pieter Vancamp R&D: The Toll of Zero-Hour Contracts  – Ernestine Gheyoh Ndzi, Janet Barlow The UK

Brussels Airlines has announced that Philip Verlinden has been named Head of Compensation & Benefits Manager a.i. as of December 2018. He is based in Brussels. He comes to Brussels Airlines from the Atesis Hogeschool Antwerpen, where he continues as a lecturer in financial management, statistics, and life insurance. He was also Compensation & Benefits Manager a.i. for ENGIE Electrabel in Brussels, and HR Director a.i. for ASAP HR

Aon has announced that as of July 2019, Martin Malota will be Key Account Manager Global Clients, Team Leader AGCN (Aon Global Client Network), and Practice Leader MNC (multinational companies). He will be based in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany. Malota has been with AON since 2002 when he joined as an intern and quickly moved to trainee. Since then he has served as Liability Expert, Global Business Unit;

ModusLink in July 2019 announced that Robert Breukers will start a new position as HR Director. Mr. Breukers will be based near Eindhoven, the Netherlands (NL). Breukers is seconded as interim HR Manager by Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services, based in NL. Previously, he held positions as General Manager and Senior HR Professional for HR5 in Uden, NL; Director of HR for Hüppe in Germany; as HR Director for

Marine Charbonnier, who is also an author for Global Benefits Vision, in June 2019 started a new position as Global Programs and Captives Regional Director Europe at AXA XL (a division of AXA). She was previously Head of Integrated Solutions A.R.T. (alternative risk transfer) for AXA, as well as Head of Risk Financing Solutions at AXA. Charbonnier is based in Paris. Previous to her tenure at AXA, Charbonnier was

Burlington, Vermont, USA-based Distributed Ledger Governance Association (DLGA) in July 2019 launched a blockchain working group dedicated to captive reinsurance companies. The U.S. state of Vermont is a major domicile for captive insurers and reinsurers. DLGA’s mission statement is “to enable [its] members to successfully demonstrate and accelerate commercialization of their distributed ledger technology (DLT). [DLGA believes] this can best be accomplished through effectively engaging with government and stakeholders

Indigo Captive Insurance Consulting has announced the addition of Linda Danna to their Charleston, South Carolina consulting staff as of June 2019. She joins Indigo from Marsh where she has served as Senior Advisory Consultant and Captive Management Executive since 2005. Previous to joining Marsh, Danna was CFO and VP of Venture Management and Consultants and worked as manager of accounting operations for Blackbaud. She moved to Blackbaud after

Verisure has named Stéphanie Breton-Courtadon as head of Payroll, Compensation & Benefits as of February 2019. She is based in Châtenay-Malabry, Île-de-France. Breton-Courtadon was previously Compensation and Benefits Manager for Verisure, and previous to her tenure at Verisure she worked in Compensation & Benefits at LVMH Watches & Jewelry in Paris. Before that, she was a Team Leader and Consultant, Compensation and Benefits, for the Hay Group. Prior to

AIG has named Adam Winslow as Interim Chief Executive Officer of its global Life Insurance business, effective in June 2019. He is based in London, UK; Nashville, TN; and Houston, TX, and is responsible for AIG’s global life business (US and international). He also is a member of AIG’s Life and Retirement Executive Team. Winslow has been with AIG since 2013 when he was brought on board as Executive

Nick Burns in July 2019 joined Gallagher as the new CEO of its UK Employee Benefits Consulting Division. He now is based in London and succeeds Tim Johnson. Prior to joining Gallagher, Burns was a non-executive adviser for SMEs and start-ups in employee benefits and creative technology, including Hybrid Legal; Brand Biology; Engage Works; and Neyber. Earlier, he was the CEO of Capita E.B. Solutions; of consulting firm Bluefin;

Global insurance premiums passed the USD 5 trillion mark for the first time in 2018, equivalent to more than 6% of world gross domestic product (GDP) according to the July 2019 issue of sigma, “World insurance: the great pivot east continues”, from Swiss Re Institute. This surge was based on solid growth in the non-life sector, especially in China and other emerging Asian countries, as well as in advanced

Nexus Insurance Brokers has announced that Emmanuel Isenbrandt has been named Head of Sales, Employee Benefits, in the UAE as of April 2019. He will be based in Dubai. Isenbrandt was previously Vice President – Head of Gulf, Employee Benefits for MetLife in Dubai, and earlier, International Director at Henner in Dubai. Previous to that, he spent 13 years at Allianz as International Master Black Belt Project Manager based

The number of workers on zero-hours contracts continues to rise in the UK. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that between October and December 2018 there were between 777,000 and 911,000 people working on zero-hours contracts. But the impact of such contracts seems to be underestimated by the government.

In June 2019, much of Europe was struck by early heatwave, with temperatures reaching nearly 46 Centigrade (115 Fahrenheit) in France, an all-time record. A heat wave is characterised by extremely high temperatures over the course of several days and nights. They have significant impact on our daily lives – we feel overheated and tired. When a heat wave strikes, many governments activate a “heat action plan”, advising those affected to drink water, avoid strenuous exercise, and stay cool. If not, one risks having a heat stroke, which can be potentially life-threatening.

People in China have used salt to prepare and preserve food for thousands of years. But consuming lots of salt raises blood pressure, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease, which includes heart attack and stroke, now accounts for 40% of deaths in China.

Why should employers look to create a positive workplace culture? We sat down with Dr Leena Johns, Head of Health & Wellness at MAXIS Global Benefits Network, to discuss the, often unseen, impact of workplace culture on the productivity and health of employees.

Australia is in the bottom third of OECD countries when it comes to working long hours, with 13% of us clocking up 50 hours or more a week in paid work. These long hours are bad for our health. A new study from France has found that regularly working long days of ten hours or more increases our risk of having a stroke.

SIRVA Worldwide Relocation & Moving has named Suzie Chapman as Vice President, Global Account Management as of April 2019. She will be based in Washington DC. She is also Vice President, Global Account Management and Implementation, and Vice President, Global Client Engagement. Chapman comes to SIRVA from MetLife, where she was Director of Delivery Strategy in their International Assignment Office, and Cartus, where she was Director of Global Operations.

MAXIS GBN announced in July 2019 the promotions of Trudie Roberts and Greg Tew to the position of Member Manager for the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region. The appointments mean the firm now has five dedicated professionals focused on serving members and supporting the growth and development of its network. MAXIS GBN member managers represent local insurers and their needs across projects and initiatives, deliver ongoing local

In our previous article* we saw how the growth and geographical expansion of multinationals is leading to increasing international mobility, and new challenges for the HR function. Now we’ll look at the issues surrounding a specific area of benefit provision – group life and disability cover – and discuss the range of solutions available.