GBV: Thank you all for agreeing to this interview. Can we start with a history of captives in general and of the use of captives for employee benefits over the past 25 years?

Invesco Director Brian McGarry starts off by reminding us that a pension plan not only constitutes tax-advantaged deferred compensation, but that a well-thought out and well-communicated plan has a distinct, positive impact on employee retention. Experienced Personal Financial Advisors Conor Murray and Padhraic Kelly continue by explaining the importance of striking the right balance between our human and financial capital.

Of the European countries, Germany has always had the strictest data protection rules. This includes the legal framework that governs employer’s rights to process personal information of their employees, e.g. to do their payroll, or establish benefit schemes, during recruitment or in workforce investigations. The statutory rules applicable in Germany until May 24, 2018, the Old Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz – BDSG-old), were based on the European data protection directive and provided for a comprehensive and restrictive scheme for the processing and transfer of personal data, including employees’ data in the workplace. On May 25, 2018, these rules were replaced by the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which is binding in all EU member states.

We’re often told by the popular press and well-meaning family and friends that, for good health, we should fall asleep quickly and sleep solidly for about eight hours – otherwise we’re at risk of physical and psychological ill health.

Only 10.7 percent of American workers belong to a union today, approximately half as many as in 1983. That’s a level not seen since the 1930s, just before passage of the labor law that was supposed to protect workers’ right to organize.

Chief executives of the multinational pooling networks meet from time to time to discuss general industry trends, and recent discussions focused on the future of multinational pooling and how to grow the market for global solutions offered by the multinational networks. While the structure and focus areas vary between the networks, there was consensus on a number of issues relating to the current state of the market.

Researchers Jacqueline Carter and Rasmus Hougaard stopped in Brussels on 19 September 2018 to present the findings of their new book, The Mind of the Leader, Harvard Business Press. During an interesting evening, co-hosted by Generali Employee Benefits, Harvard Business Review and McKinsey GBV sat down with the authors to delve deeper into some aspects of their findings.