Flagship Sponsor of IPSA’s Employee Ownership Day 2023

Global Shares was proud to be the flagship sponsor of the IPSA Employee Share Ownership Day (ESOD) 2023, which was hosted at our new J.P. Morgan office at Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock on September 14th. The much anticipated sold-out event was attended by Ireland’s share plan community including advisors, corporates, and representatives from government. The theme for ESOD23 was Employee Ownership For All.

This annual event, spearheaded by the Irish ProShare Association (IPSA), had a packed agenda which saw speakers from across the industry come together to share their thoughts and insights about recent developments in the employee share ownership space.

Marc Hussey, Senior Country Officer and Head of Banking Ireland, J.P. Morgan, opened with an International Markets Update – discussing how the global macro-outlook of market conditions can impact equity compensation. He also talked about the acquisition of Global Shares by J.P. Morgan as one of the firm’s ‘most exciting projects globally over the past year’ and plans to build a new workplace offering for clients with Global Shares as its anchor.

A superb panel discussion on Share Plans In a Corporate Transaction – Tricks & Traps featured Rosaleen Boyle – Incentive Senior Advisor, A&L Goodbody; Sarah Conry – Tax Director, Deloitte, and Éinde O’Donnell – Senior Associate, A&L Goodbody. They dug deep into the topic of due diligence in transactions – corrective actions, valuations, contracts, employee relations, transferring shares, CGT liability, legal aspects of a deal, as well as many intricate and complex considerations that need to be taken into account as part of a corporate transaction.

Graeme Nuttall OBE – Partner, Fieldfisher UK, discussed Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs). It’s been a little over a decade since his Nuttall Review – a publication in conjunction with the UK government, which found there was a lack of awareness of the concept of employee ownership, a perception that they are complex, and a lack of resources to support them.  The government accepted and implemented all of the recommendations and today there are 1,418 employee-owned businesses across the UK. Mr Nuttall also shared with the audience how the introduction of the EOT was a major player in this success and spoke of its potential use in Ireland.

James Robertson, Associate Director of Business Development, Computershare, looked at Share Plan Communications/Market Observations, and talked through the impact of age, gender and geographical region on behaviour, and the importance of segmenting and creating bespoke communications for employees.

Another engaging panel discussion, One Size Doesn’t Fit All, lifted the lid on recent real-life liquidity events by private companies, including the story of Global Shares’ own purchase in 2022 by J.P. Morgan. Facilitators Peter O’Connor (IPSA Vice Chair/Mercer) and Marie Flynn (IPSA Chair/PwC) were joined for this talk by Mark Griffin – Global Solutions Director at Global Shares, and Lydia O’Donnell – HR Manager Grifols, who had rolled out the first ever share plan at the healthcare company.  Having been through the experience first-hand, Mark and Lydia were able to reveal real-life challenges, truths and obstacles, which made for a fascinating session.

Darren Smith, Head of Business Development, UK and Ireland at Global Shares, acted as MC for the day and also delivered his humorous presentation Networking Ideas – Bad Shoes Equals Breakthroughs. In his typically bright and upbeat manner he spoke about the importance of building and maintaining a network of contacts, while serving up key take-aways about upskilling. Light-hearted, but with a strong message, Darren guided the audience through his own journey which included tips like how he improved his public speaking by doing a stand-up comedy course, how putting yourself in positions where you don’t know anyone is essential, and how a chat with someone about his gold shoes led to attending a meeting in the House of Commons. A great conclusion to a great event and lots of food for thought.

IPSA, The Irish ProShare Association, is an independent, voluntary organisation that works in close partnership with its members to promote and provide insight into the business case for employee ownership in Ireland. Founded in 1978, IPSA represents organisations which are wholly or transitioning to employee ownership, or which provide services that facilitate employee share ownership.

Global Shares would like to thank all the attendees, speakers and contributors. 

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