Launch of the International Forum of Senior Executive Advisers and Inaugural Event on 4 February 2020, London

CM Murray is delighted to announce the launch of the International Forum of Senior Executive Advisers and to invite you to the inaugural event of the Forum:

International One-Day Conference on
Risk, Reward & Reputation Management Issues for
Senior Executives & Founders and their Specialist Advisers

Tuesday 4 February 2020
Venue: One Whitehall Place, 1 Whitehall Court, Westminster, London SW1A 2EJ

3 February 2020

18:30 – 21:00 – Opening Networking Drinks 

4 February 2020

08:00 – 08:45 – Registration and Breakfast

08:45 – 08:50 – Welcome Address – Clare Murray, CM Murray LLP (UK)

08:50 – 09:30 – Keynote Session: Managing Senior Executive and Founder Wellbeing and Resilience in Times of Crisis

Strategies for senior executives and founders to build personal resilience and manage the impact of relentless stresses in leading modern businesses on their own mental and physical wellbeing.

Moderator:   Rob Hind, People in Law (UK)

Speakers:

Prof. Pieter Kruger, Cognacity (UK)

Joydeep Hor, People + Culture Strategies (Australia)

Elaine Aarons, Withers LLP (UK)

09:30 – 10:30 – Plenary Session: Personal De-risking for Senior Executives and Founders from a Legal, Regulatory, Wealth Management and Reputational Perspective

What are the key steps which senior executives and founders should consider taking in their personal and professional lives to de-risk themselves, including in areas such as their directorship roles and risks; planning for management of their personal and business interests in the event of serious ill-health; de-risking in personal tax and succession planning; and managing personal investments to avoid reputational harm.  This panel of leading experts will consider the high-level issues for senior executives and founders in this area relating to planning, insurances, lasting powers of attorney, wills, holding directorships, owning crypto-assets and managing risk associated with secondary roles, such as charity trusteeships.

Moderator:   Corinne Staves, Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP (UK)

Speakers: 

Dr. Lucy Gordon, MME Legal (Switzerland)

Laurence Winston, Crowell & Moring LLP (UK)

Nick Blogg, LGT Vestra LLP (UK)

10:30 – 10:45 – Coffee Break

 10:45 – 11:45 – Breakout Sessions:

Breakout Session: Negotiating Service Agreements and Incentive and Equity Agreements for Senior Executives and Founders Moving to a New Role

What are the key contractual provisions for senior executives to focus on when taking on a new role? How should equity and other incentive arrangements be negotiated and documented? How can the negotiations be managed when there are complex cross-border issues to navigate? This panel will discuss and consider the key strategic and legal issues to consider, including managing the delicate balancing act between negotiating the best possible deal and maintaining good relations with a new employer.

Moderator:   Beth Hale, CM Murray LLP (UK)

Speakers:

Michèle Stutz, MME Legal (Switzerland)

Inez Anderson, Smith & Williamson LLP (UK)

Carl-Fredrik Hedenström, Morris Law AB (Sweden)

Charles Wynn-Evans, Dechert LLP (UK)

Neal Jacobs, Jacobs Law Group (USA)

 Breakout Session: Global Mobility Issues for Senior Executives and their Families

This panel will look at key immigration, structuring, remuneration and benefits, contractual, relocation and cultural issues relating to global mobility for senior executives, including how to build an executive program, tax, immigration and regulatory complexities faced by senior executives and how corporate structures impact individual and corporate compliance and how to mitigate these complexities balancing the needs of the senior executive and the multinational organisation.

Moderator:   Allen Powley, GlaxoSmithKline plc (UK)

Speakers:   

Sophie Barrett-Brown, Laura Devine Immigration (UK)

Juliet Carp, Keystone Law (UK)

Atul Gupta, Trilegal (India)

Chris Horton, Deloitte LLP (UK)

Wendi S. Lazar, Outten & Golden LLP (USA)

11:45 – 12:45 – Breakout Sessions:

Breakout Session: Negotiating International Senior Executive and Founder Exits

What are the key legal and tactical issues that exiting senior executives and founders need to consider when negotiating their exit, including where they have equity and other incentive equity arrangements to consider and significant tax issues to address too? These issues become even more complex where the individual is employed and working across a number of jurisdictions, and where there may be significant reputational issues for themselves or their organisation relating to their exit. This panel will take a multi-jurisdiction and disciplinary approach to handling negotiated executive and founder exits.

Moderator:   Merrill April, CM Murray LLP (UK)

Speakers:  

Peter Rukin, Rukin Hyland & Riggin LLP (USA)

Jonathan Grode, Green and Spiegel LLP (USA)

Jane Mann, Fox Williams LLP (UK)

Martijn van Hall, Van Hall Advocaten (Netherlands)

Cathy Qu, River Delta Law Firm (China)

 Breakout Session: International Pre-Nup and Post-Nup Arrangements, Taxation, Trust and Wealth Structuring Issues for Senior Executives and Founders

This expert panel of leading international divorce, tax, trust and private client lawyers will discuss the key tax and wealth structuring issues for senior executives and founders to consider when they relocate internationally, and the impact of relocation on the effectiveness of existing pre-nup and post-nup arrangements.

Moderator:   Mark Harper, Hughes Fowler Carruthers (UK)

Speakers: 

Emma-Jane Weider, Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP (UK)

Christoph Rechsteiner, MME Legal (Switzerland)

Astrid Owen, McDermott Will & Emery LLP (UK/USA)

12:45 – 13:45 – Lunch Break and Networking

13:45 – 14:45 – Breakout Sessions:

Breakout Session: How can a Senior Executive Rebuild their Reputation after Facing Public Allegations of Wrongdoing? Personal Brand and Reputation Management for Senior Executives and Founders in Crisis

“Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial.”  (Cassio, II.iii.262-265) – Othello, William Shakespeare.

Whether in Shakespearean times or the modern world, the reputation of our leaders remains their most important attribute. This panel will explore how senior executives and founders can build their personal brand and reputation and protect and restore it following a reputation- threatening crisis, such as allegations of serious wrongdoing.

Moderator:    Gus Sellitto, Byfield Consultancy (UK)

Speakers:  

Danny J. Kaufer, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (Canada)

Claire Gill, Carter-Ruck (UK)

Brian J. MacDonough, Sherin and Lodgen LLP (USA)

Kate Beioley, Financial Times (UK)

Breakout Session: Addressing and Eradicating Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation Against Senior Executives – What Role can Executives Play to Drive Change?

What happens when senior executives are the subject of harassment, discrimination and retaliation themselves, and what can they do to protect themselves and their career? What role can senior executives play to effectively drive diversity and inclusion in their organisation, including at Board level, that benefits all? And, for female and ethnic minority executives, is it better to stay and drive change from within organisations, or is founding a business of your own the only way to ensure a truly inclusive and supportive culture?

Moderator:    Anna Birtwistle, Farrer & Co LLP (UK)

Speakers:    

Helen Calcraft, Lucky Generals (UK)

Kelly M. Dermody, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP (USA)

Claire Dawson, CC Solicitors (Ireland)

Jennifer Millins, Mishcon de Reya LLP (UK)

14:45 – 15:45 – Breakout Sessions:

Breakout Session: Restrictive Covenant and Confidential Information Issues for International Senior Executives and Founders

What scope do senior executives and founders have to challenge their restrictive covenants and confidentiality agreements? How are restrictive covenants and duties of confidence treated in different jurisdictions, and what happens when they are breached? Will an award by the courts of one country be enforceable against an individual who lives and works in another country? These are just some of the key issues to be examined in this session by the panel of experts from France, Italy, China, the US and the UK.

Moderator:    David Fisher, CM Murray LLP (UK)

Speakers: 

Graziana Alò, Studioe Legal Daverio & Florio (Italy)

Mathilde Houet-Weil, Weil & Associés (France)

María José Sánchez, Augusta Abogados (Spain)

Cathleen Scott/Lindsey Wagner, Scott, Wagner and Associates, P.A. (USA)

Doug Mandell, Mandell Law Group (USA)

Breakout Session: Identifying and Developing the Global Senior Executive of the Future

Increasing financial demands in an increasingly complex world have moved the goalposts for what is required of our leaders. They need to be as conversant with the balance sheet as they are with issues of inclusion and mental health. Just how do we find these types of leaders and what do they need to be good at? How do we develop their skills, their knowledge and their emotional capacity to not just survive but also thrive in tomorrow’s world of work?

Moderator:    Alison Young, Leaders In Change (UK)

Speakers:

Gail McManus, PER Ltd (UK)

Rick Vassell, Barclaycard (UK)

Dara McCann, SES Satellites (Netherlands)

Asha Haji, Founders Academy (UK)

15:45 – 16:00 – Coffee Break

16:00 – 17:30 – Plenary Session:

Advising International Senior Executives and Founders Accused of Serious Wrongdoing: Anatomy of a Cross-Border Misconduct Investigation

A live reconstruction of a cross-border investigation into alleged international senior executive wrongdoing from an international employment, regulatory, criminal and PR perspective.

This plenary session will be a real-time investigation meeting conducted by experienced cross-border investigators and expert professional advisers into allegations of serious misconduct and wrongdoing against a senior executive and founder of a multinational company.

The live scenario will explore the real-life cross-border employment, regulatory and criminal aspects, vital issues relating to privilege across borders and areas of civil, criminal and regulatory risk, and practical handling matters which commonly arise in international investigations into alleged wrongdoing, viewed particularly from the perspective of the accused senior executive.

Co-Chairs:

Sarah Chilton, CM Murray LLP (UK)

Neil Swift, Peters & Peters LLP (UK)

Investigators:

Emily Kaufer, Air Canada (Canada)

Nicholas Surmacz, Kobre & Kim LLP (UK)

UK Advisers:

Jonathan Cohen QC, Littleton Chambers (UK)

Hannah Laming, Peters & Peters LLP (UK)

US Adviser:     Thomas Hanusik, Crowell & Moring LLP (USA)

PR Adviser:     Simon Eaton, Crofton Communications Limited (UK)

Accused Senior Executive:    Philip Gardner, Peters & Peters LLP (UK)

17:30 – 21:00 – Closing Comments and Networking Drinks