The View from the Top with Brian Friedman

Recorded Live on LinkedIn Live on March 13th 2020 Coronavirus - What are the implications for Global Mobility. We discuss the impact of Coronavirus on Global Mobility.  How have you been affected ? Are you in lockdown ? Have you been tested or diagnosed? Has your organisation banned business travel or attendance at events ? How are your assignees coping ? What are the visa implications of overstaying due to lockdown? What are the tax consequences of overstaying (or repatriating)? We also cover my 10 action points for GM professionals today.  1. Know exactly how many assignees you have in each location. 2. Have contact details - names, cellphones, emails 3. Know the nationalities of assignees and their dependents 4. Understand the entrance and exit rules for every country/locality - eg bias rules and travel advisories 5. Know what the “trigger” dates are for visa / tax complications - esp where employees are in lockdown 6. Build a “pandemic” working plan (remote working, liaison with vendors etc) 7. Agree how your vendors will work with you during the pandemic. 8. Set up a helpline/website to keep assignees up to date. 9. Develop digital solutions wherever possible 10. Adapt to new ways of working and embed them for the long-term

Peggy Smith President and CEO at Worldwide ERC Peggy Smith is one of the most well-known figures in the global mobility profession. She is the outgoing President and CEO at Worldwide ERC, a company which empowers mobile people through meaningful connection, unbiased information, inspired ideas and solutions and connects mobility professionals across the globe. It has been since 1964, shaping the future of a dynamic, innovative and growing mobility community. Smith is responsible for impacting the financial health and transparency of the organizations with which she works, and helping to expand the mobility community’s footprint in APAC, EMEA and LATAM regions. In this in-depth interview, Peggy discusses why globalization is here to stay; shares her opinion that in five years time we're going to be working side-by-side with robots; discusses what pain points keep awake her corporate HR friends; and asserts the importance of employee experience.

Hugo Scheckter Head of Player Care at West Ham United Hugo Scheckter is the Head of Player Care at West Ham United, a dynamic, fan-focused football Club at the heart and soul of London since 1895. Scheckter is responsible for running West Ham United's Player Care Department, he has provided a high standard of initial care and ongoing support to some of the club's most high-profile players, helping them to not only relocate but also settle into their new lives in East London, ultimately ensuring they receive a well-rounded positive experience while at the club. In this in-depth interview, Hugo explains the differences between footballers and normal assignees; reflects that often people forget that footballers are just people too; describes how they face the language challenge with international players; and admits that he treats footballers without sort of a sense of awe.

Mark Derksen  Head of Global Mobility at Booking.com Mark Derksen is the Head of Global Mobility at Booking.com, one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies, and the number one destination to book any type of accommodation. Mark and Booking both believe that technology and travel are powers for good in the world. . Derksen is an experienced Talent Mobility professional with a demonstrated record of working across various industries and countries. Mark entered the global mobility profession through expatriate tax with PwC, later switching to in-house roles, firstly at Deloitte and then at Unilever and Arup. He is skilled in Talent Management, Global Mobility, HR Consulting, International Tax, and Organizational Development.  In this in-depth interview, Mark discusses his mobility program at Booking; reflects on the attention Booking pays to employee experience; explores how Booking invests in developing an inclusive workplace; and explains why he always asks for the reason why a company hired him when he is starting a new role.

Brian Friedman is the Strategy Director at Benivo, the world’s leading welcome as a service mobility tech company. Prior to joining Benivo, Brian was Founder and CEO of the Forum for Expatriate Management (FEM). Previously, he served as the CEO of both Ernst & Young’s and previously Arthur Andersen’s Human Capital practice. He has worked in Global Mobility and Expatriate Management for over three decades. And of course Brian is the great host of The View from the Top. In this episode, Brian has 10 guests instead of 1. Brian will compile all his learnings from his guests and will prepare us for the Season 3. Enjoy this episode as Brian enjoyed Season 2 of The View from the Top!

Susan Benevides CEO at Plus Relocation Services Susan Benevides is the CEO at Plus Relocation Services, a global mobility company which has been making moving easier for corporations and their relocating families, for more than 50 years. They do it by delivering more global knowledge, more ground-breaking technology and more engaging relocation services. Benevides is responsible for the growth and development of the organization, she executes Plus Relocation’s strategy through innovative solutions, employee development, and client engagement.  In this in-depth interview, Susan discusses her career journey at Plus Relocation and how this gave her the tools to understand the job; shares her thoughts on not being afraid to ask for help from successful role models; discusses technology and the new types of companies coming into the market; reveals her belief that the traditional way of managing mobility is changing; and asserts the importance of not looking at your career as a ladder, but look at it rather a jungle gym.  

Michael Arkins HR Director (International) at Verizon Connect Michael Arkins is the HR Director (International) at Verizon Connect, an organization which is guiding a connected world on the go by automating, optimizing and revolutionizing the way people, vehicles and things move through the world. Arkins is responsible for International HR ensuring the smooth and profitable operation of the global HR team whilst providing consultation to management on strategic headcount plans, compensation, benefits, training and development, budget, legal matters and workplace relations. In this in-depth interview, Michael explains why he is not the average HR person who only wants to think about rules and procedures; discusses mergers and acquisitions in Verizon Connect; reveals his belief that employee experience is the most fundamental experience; stresses the importance of being visible and vocal; and admits that he likes people to be dreamers, to see a spark in them. 

**Louise Worbey** **Head of Global Mobility UK at Deloitte** Louise Worbey is the Head of Global Mobility UK at Deloitte, a multinational professional services network, one of the "Big Four" accounting organizations and the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of professionals. Worbey is responsible for managing the day to day movement of Deloitte assignees inbound and outbound for the UK as well as advising the business in relation to assignments, global mobility, client project workers, International Permanent Transfers and all things related to strategic use of global mobility. In this in-depth interview, Louise discusses her career and how she got into the industry via tax; explains that this is a period of transition for her as she starts a new role at KPMG; stresses the importance of keeping a sense of perspective; tells that the role of mobility in the Big Four organizations has changed tremendously because of technology; and admits that moving is emotional issue that you need to have that point of contact within mobility to help you navigate.

**Mark Thomas** **CEO at Equus Software** Mark Thomas is the CEO at Equus Software, the global leader in cloud-based international relocation and mobility solutions. Thomas founded Equus Software in 1999 with Leonard Schuele and since then has built it into the world's leading mobility technology company. More than 300 organizations around the world rely on Equus tools and technology to automate mundane, transactional work so that global mobility teams, talent management professionals and other key stakeholders can focus on adding value to the business. In this in-depth interview, Mark discusses his career in Equus and explains that today he is more focused on strategy than he was 10 years ago; tells that it was just a big coincidence how he got exposed to the relocation industry; describes the early days of Equus; reveals his belief that AI will have a marginal impact on mobility in the next 10 years; makes his case that Millennials expect everything to be available on their mobile devices; and admits that in Equus they never sit back on our laurels

**Bettina Tang** **Global Mobility Advisor, Owner at Go Global HR Advisory B.V.** Bettina Tang is one of the most well-known names in Global Mobility consulting. She has a particular focus on holistic Global Mobility Management combining strategic business needs with organizational and people related elements to ensure operational delivery. Tang teaches International HR & Global Mobility at Erasmus University, Rotterdam and at Expatise Academy. During her impressive career Bettina has worked with a wide selection of blue-chip organizations including Deloitte, Borealis, Novo Nordisk, Schneider Electric, Booking.com and several more. In this in-depth interview, Bettina discusses her big jump to independence and how this helped her to get an overall understanding of how global mobility works; explains why global mobility is both a profession and an industry; discusses the benefits of teaching global mobility as the people can get a holistic view of the industry and stresses the importance of building relationships.

**Nicolai Wassmann** **Head of Global Mobility at Ramboll** Nicolai Wassmann is the Head of Global Mobility at Ramboll, a leading engineering, design and consultancy company founded in Denmark in 1945\. Wassmann came into the mobility industry via an earlier career in tax. He specialises in Global Mobility, expatriate management, international tax and social security, process management and business optimization. In this in-depth interview, Nicolai describes his role and how he designs Ramboll’s Global Mobility program; explains the differences between a commercial owned corporation and a foundation company and why Ramboll is a people company; stresses the importance of viewing your service delivery from the eyes of the customer; admits that the younger generation has shorter patience; reveals his belief that the key to a good partnership is built on trust and where you can speak directly, open, and freely with each other.