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dE&i More VC firms prioritizing DE&I: Deloitte survey
The number of US venture capital firms with either diversity or an inclusion strategy has increased by one-third since 2018, according to the findings of a new survey jointly conducted by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), Venture Forward, and Deloitte. Previous editions of the survey had shown that firms incorporating diversity, equitability, and inclusion (DE&I) into their human capital strategies do in fact have more women and Black professionals, although the numbers remain low—at best, women make up 25 percent of investment professionals and Black employees makeup only 5 percent.
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The attempt to improve DE&I is still only nominal, though. While the overall number of women and racial minorities on investment teams has increased, the survey shows that most of the numbers come from the junior levels. Women and minorities are still left behind in terms of leadership responsibilities, whether in originating deals, in representing investment firms on the boards of portfolio companies, or in management company ownership. Only 16 percent of investment partners are female and only 3 percent are Black.
CoMpEnSAtion & bEnEfitS Uber grants employee status to UK drivers
Uber is granting employee status to over 70,000 drivers across the UK with the effect this week, slightly less than a month after the Supreme Court ruled that the ride-hailing company must treat its drivers as workers and not self-employed independent contractors as it has historically argued. As employees, the thousands of drivers in the UK will be entitled to the national living wage of at least £8.91 per hour (US$12.37), benefits including paid leave and a pension, and employment rights such as break times and collective bargaining.
CoMpEnSAtion 85 percent women employees not given promotions: Linkedin
LinkedIn has launched the Opportunity Index 2021 report to understand how people, especially women seek opportunities and the challenges that stand in the way of achieving them. The findings show that 85 percent of women not getting promotions due to gender biases as well as 9 in 10 (89 percent) women state that they were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.India’s working women still contend the strongest gender bias across Asia Pacific countries.
Hr tECH Employment Hero raises US$35m Series D funding
Sydney-based Employment Hero, an HR tech startup, has raised A$45 million (US$35 million) in a Series D funding round led by employment and education group SEEK, a longtime investor of the company.
This is the largest funding round in Australia this year so far. This latest funding brings Employment Hero's total valuation to A$250 million (US$193 million).
Hr tECH HRtech startup Humaans raises $5 Mn in seed funding
London-based HRtech startup Humaans has raised $5 Mn in seed funding to accelerate the development of its employee on-boarding and management platform. The round saw participation from Y Combinator, Mattias Ljungman’s Moonfire, Frontline Ventures, and former head of Stripe Issuing, Lachy Groom. Other investors included LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner (via Next Play Ventures), Stripe COO Claire Johnson, Figma CEO Dylan Field, Intercom Co-Founder Des Traynor, former Workday CTO David Clarke, former Benchmark GP Scott Belsky, Notion COO Akshay Kothari, Qubit co-founder Emre Baran, Evervault CEO Shane Curren and Stripe security engineer Gerardo Di Giacomo.
The startup will use the proceeds to double down on product and engineering by bringing in the best talent to help fulfill its vision, increase its reach, drive value for the wider community.
SKilling Indonesian firms lead in adopting flexible work, but lag in skilling their employees: Report
When it comes to relinquishing control of employee decentralizing work arrangements, Indonesian companies are well ahead of the global average, according to Mercer's 2021 Global Talent Trends report. The Indonesia findings show that 86 percent of companies feel that COVID-19 lockdowns have allowed them to “relinquish central control” of employee behaviors and instead move toward more “unsupervised” work arrangements— above the global average of 77 percent.
tECHnology Virtual platform Hubilo raises $ 23.5 Mn, plans to hire 150 people
Hubilo, the global virtual and hybrid events platform has announced a $23.5 Mn Series A investment led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Balderton Capital, alongside several angel investors and industry experts including John Thompson, Chairman of the Board at Microsoft, and Chris Schagen, Former CMO at Contentful. With the expansion in mind, Hubilo is planning to hire 150 more people, taking the tally to 300 by June 2021.
WorK-lifE 54 percent of insurance professionals would leave the industry for a better work-life balance
Vertafore’s latest survey of independent agents highlights the need for remote work options, time-saving technology, and an inclusive workforce to attract and retain industry talent. This report by Vertafore on the state of the independent insurance channel workforce brings into sharp relief how the pandemic changed the nature of work in the industry, what insurance professionals value about their work, and what independent agencies can do to support their people now and attract new talent in the future.
Newsmaker oF the moNth
It was widely feared that salaried employees may be left behind to ensure business continuity. But data from companies across AsiaPacific suggests that although employers were forced to revise their pay rise budgets, companies are conducting salary reviews across the region based on both performance and business growth.
According to a report by Willis Towers Watson on “Salary budget planning survey”, employers in AsiaPacific expect a 5.3 percent increase in salaries for 2021, down from 5.4 percent in 2020. A total of 13 out of 20 markets have decreased their average 2021 pay increase forecast, with India noting the highest drop of the lot (from 9 percent in 2020 to 7.9 percent in 2021. The lowest salary increase forecast is in Japan at 2.2 percent, according to the report. The projected salary increase per market was: 1. Bangladesh: 8.0% 2. India: 7.9% 3. Vietnam: 7.7% 4. Myanmar: 7.0% 5. Indonesia: 7.0% 6. China: 6.0% 7. Sri Lanka: 5.7% 8. The Philippines: 5.6% 9. Cambodia: 5.5% 10. Thailand: 5.0% 11. Malaysia: 4.7% 12. South Korea: 4.1% 13. Singapore: 3.5% 14. Taiwan: 3.5% 15. Hong Kong: 3.5%
Speaking about this Edward Hsu, Business Leader, Rewards Data & Software in Asia Pacific at Willis Towers Watson, said: "In emerging markets, many companies are in fast-growth businesses where organizations need to build strong executive and leadership teams. Companies tend to allocate their salary budgets to hiring and rewarding these executives. With the pandemic, many employers have taken actions to review their workforce and pay effectiveness. The difference in pay gap suggests that companies are prioritizing their salary budget for hiring and rewarding high-performing talent including those at the executive level.”
The Talent Trends Report 2021 by Micheal Page said that in India, the average salary increase stood at eight percent in the healthcare sector, 7.6 percent in FMCG, and 7.5 percent in Internet services. The lowest salary increases were in property and construction (5.3 percent) and industrial/manufacturing (5.9 percent).
Companies are also optimistic about hiring as they step into a new financial year. Nearly 53 percent of Indian companies intend to hire as compared to 42 percent of APAC businesses. Unlike last year, when close to one-third of the companies in the private sector implemented a freeze in pay increases, this year that number is set to decline sharply, signaling optimism in the year ahead.
HSbC MAlAySiA AppointS nEW HEAd of globAl bAnKing HSBC Malaysia has appointed Christina Cheah the head of its global banking division effective March 1, just a few months after previous global banking head Omar Mahmoud stepped down and she assumed the interim position. With Cheah's confirmation to the role, women now make up 40 percent of HSBC Malaysia's executive committee.
dupont nAMES CHriStopHEr rAiA nEW CHro Multinational chemicals giant DuPont announced that it has appointed Christopher Raia Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, effective March 1. He had stepped in as interim CHRO in January after former CHRO Darrell Ford left to join UPS.
ibM AnnounCES SEnior rolES for MAnAgEd infrAStruCturE SErviCES buSinESS IBM announced key members of the executive team to lead the independent company that will be created following the previously announced separation of IBM’s Managed Infrastructure Services business (“NewCo”). Elly Keinan has been named as Group President of the new company. Maria Bartolome Winans has been named as NewCo’s Chief Marketing Officer. Both executives are veterans of the technology industry and have held global leadership roles.
KiMbErly-ClArK bringS on forMEr CoCA-ColA Cio
Kimberly-Clark Corporation has announced the appointment of Robert Long as Chief Research and Development Officer, effective March 15, 2021. The role is a newly created one, part of the executive leadership suite, and has global responsibility for the company's research, development, innovation, and quality functions.
CHubb AppointS nEW Country HEAd for Anz Property and casualty insurance multinational Chubb announced that it has appointed Peter Kelaher Country President for Australia and New Zealand with immediate effect. He succeeds Jarrod Hill, who is leaving the company. In his new role, Kelaher has executive operating responsibility for the company's general insurance business. He will oversee all facets of the business including strategy, product and business development, underwriting and service operations, and profit and loss performance.
dEutSCHE bAnK AppointS rEtiring vW Cfo to boArd Deutsche Bank has nominated Frank Witter, Group Chief Financial Officer at Volkswagen AG to its supervisory board. At the Annual General Meeting on May 27, 2021, Deutsche Bank’s Supervisory Board will submit a proposal for the election of Witter as the successor to Gerd Alexander Schütz, Chairman of the Management Board of C-Quadrat Investment AG, who informed Deutsche Bank that he will resign from his mandate on the Supervisory Board at the 2021 Annual General Meeting.
Aig bringS on top Hr ExEC liSA buCKingHAM
Finance and insurance multinational AIG announced last week that Lisa M. Bucking-
ham has been appointed as Executive Vice President, Global Head of AIG Enterprise Design and Life & Retirement Separation Initiatives. The role is a newly created one, and the appointment is effective April 2021. Her new appointment to AIG's executive team is intended to support the transition as AIG spins off its life and retirement business under the leadership of CEO Peter Zaffino.
viSA AppointS MiCHEllE gEtHErS-ClArK AS CHiEf divErSity offiCEr Visa announced the appointment of Michelle GethersClark as Chief Diversity Officer and Head of Corporate Responsibility. Gethers-Clark will join Visa’s Executive Committee and report to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Al Kelly. In this role, Gethers-Clark will lead Visa’s inclusion and diversity, social impact, and sustainability efforts globally. Among her responsibilities will be ensuring Visa’s organization and culture are truly inclusive and managing initiatives to enhance Visa’s commitment to being a responsible, ethical, and sustainable company.
EulEr HErMES ASiA pACifiC AppointS ASEAn CEo Euler Hermes Asia Pacific appointed Shan Aboo to the office of ASEAN CEO, effective 1 April 2021. Aboo will be based in Singapore, overseeing Euler Hermes' operations in the ASEAN markets, namely Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia as well as Singapore. He will be reporting to the Head of Region at Euler Hermes Asia Pacific Holger Schaefer.
ford AppointS brEtt WHEAtlEy AS trAnSloC CEo Ford Motor Company announces the appointment of Brett Wheatley as Chief Executive Officer of TransLoc, a transportation software solutions company that's part of the Ford Mobility portfolio. Wheatley will report to Scott Griffith, Chief Executive Officer, Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC & Mobility Businesses. He will be based in Dearborn.
noKiA AppointS nEW CHiEf CorporAtE AffAirS offiCEr And MEMbEr of tHE group lEAdErSHip tEAM Nokia announces the appointment of Melissa Schoeb as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and member of the Group Leadership Team, effective from 12 April 2021. Nokia’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer oversees Communications, Government Relations, Brand, and Sustainability. Melissa will be based in Espoo, Finland, and report to Nokia’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Pekka Lundmark.
Ex-goldMAn SACHS to lEAd Citi group'S divErSity StrAtEgy Citi Group has hired Erika Irish Brown from rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc to lead its global diversity strategy. Brown joins Citi as its Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer after leading similar efforts at Goldman Sachs since mid-2018. Brown previously worked at Bloomberg in the same role. Goldman named Megan Hogan to replace Brown, according to a staff memo seen by Reuters. The role of Chief Diversity Officer has taken on renewed prominence as corporations work to address inequality and systemic racism roughly one year after George Floyd's death in Minnesota.
