Reward Leadership session overview

Modules

Details

Session 1: Why executive compensation is different – and latest trends

(29 April, 9:00 – 12:30, In-person only)

  • What is executive reward and why is it different?
  • Background to current structure and levels in public and private organisations
  • Underlying theories (for example, agency theory) and research
  • What does all this mean in terms of managing executive pay internally and externally?
  • Current debates (for example, performance versus simplicity; external market versus internal relativities)
  • High-level overview of the latest reporting regulations and trends

Session 2: Internal and external governance, including financial services specifics 

(6 May, 9:00 – 12:30, Virtual session) 

  • Dynamics of working with the Remuneration Committee
  • Effective Remuneration Committee processes
  • Historical context to UK governance and updates to the UK Corporate Governance Code for 2026
  • Current UK governance framework and recent developments, including a variety of shareholder points of view and their continued focus on ESG
  • Communicating with shareholders and managing proxy expectations in the UK context
  • Managing disclosure in light of latest disclosure requirements

Session 3: Managing fixed pay, executive recruitment, termination and transaction

(13 May, 9:00 – 12:30, Virtual session)

  • How the management of executive base pay is different from broad-based reward
  • Using market data in an executive context
  • Executive pensions and other benefits
  • Dynamics of executive recruitment and management of ongoing contractual liabilities
  • Legal framework and dynamics of executive termination
  • Transaction rewards — due diligence and integration of acquisitions; retention

Session 4: Pay for performance – short-term incentives, including financial services specifics 

(20 May, 9:00 – 12:30, Virtual session)

Overview of short-term incentive arrangements 

  • Range/choice of performance measures
  • Calibration and target setting
  • Institutional investor views
  • Market trends, including practices in financial services sector
  • Managing disclosures
  • Inclusion of quantifiable ESG metrics in executive short-term incentive plans, and investor/proxy expectations around targets

Session 5: Pay for performance – long-term incentives, including financial services specifics

(3 June, 9:00 – 12:30, In-person only)

Overview of long-term incentive arrangements

  • Range/choice of long-term incentive vehicles
  • Range/choice of performance measures and long-term target setting
  • Institutional investor views
  • Market trends, including practices in financial services sector
  • Managing disclosure
  • Inclusion of ESG metrics in executive long-term incentive plans, and investor/proxy expectations around targets
  • Amending plans

Session 6: Remuneration committee decision making

(10 June, 9:00 – 12:30, Virtual session)

  • What decisions do they make and when — overview of what a good annual cycle would look like in different types of organisations
  • What information should a Committee be provided with to ensure they are fulfilling their duties under the Code (wider workforce pay and practices)
  • Which lenses do they need to look through when making decisions?
  • Target setting – What information does a Committee need to assess targets?
    Differences in financial and non-financial target setting and a closer look at ESG metrics
  • Broader trends that are shaping the RemCo agenda
    • Overview of US DEI and tariff policies, and their impact on global uncertainty and people agendas
    • Rising importance of robust people governance on Boards – market perspectives 

Session 7: Managing international reward

(17 June, 9:00 – 12:30, Virtual session)

Managing international reward

  • Developing a global reward and governance framework
  • Managing pay for a global executive cadre
  • Challenges in managing global reward frameworks
  • Integrating management of risk into reward
  • Addressing globally mobile employees

(Note: this session is not primarily about expatriate pay.)

Session 8: Tax, accounting and valuation, programme wrap up

(24 June, 14:00 – 17:30, In-person only)

  • Introduction to valuation of incentive awards – covering accounting fair value, economic expected value and perceived value
  • Overview of IFRS accounting for remuneration-related expenses with a focus on equity-based awards
  • Taxation of executive arrangements, including UK pension tax
  • Programme wrap-up
    • The future of executive compensation
  • In-person networking drinks/nibbles social to celebrate completion of programme