Global & Cultural Effectiveness

David W. Ellis is internationally recognized in the area of executive compensation, employee benefits and pension funds. He is exceptionally fluent in international executive mobility, particularly in the design and taxation of compensation payable to expatriates, inpatriates and globally mobile employees. Mr. Ellis is immediate past chair of Baker & McKenzie, LLP’s Global Employment Practice Group.

Mr. Ellis represents and advises management on all aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation locally and internationally. He advises multinational companies on tax, labor, securities and data privacy aspects of equity compensation programs and management participation programs. He also advises both buyers and sellers on US and non-US labor and pension funding issues that arise in cross-border transaction.

Jun is an HR professional with nearly 20 years of deep HR body of knowledge and experience (10+ years of which are Japan-focused) across the entire HR value chain gained from both the public and private sectors and various industries such as manufacturing, academe, training, recruitment, and HR consulting. He is not only considered as Japan's premier HR-focused search consultant but also a practicing HR consultant providing services and solutions in various HR areas like performance management, compensation & benefits design, organizational design and development, change management, coaching, and career counseling. He holds a Japan-focused MBA from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and an MS Industrial Engineering degree from the University of the Philippines. He also completed his HR Studies Certificate from Cornell University.

Karin Goettsch, Ph.D., CPLP, manages key global talent management initiatives at The Mosaic Company, a Fortune 500 organization. She has managed learning functions and designed and facilitated programs for global companies in a variety of industries. Karin also serves as contracted faculty of practice in HR Management at Concordia University College of Business and the University of Minnesota. As a published researcher and consultant, she has been invited to present the practical applications of her award-winning research on global virtual team communication and other topics at many international conferences including SHRM, ATD, ABC and GABC.

William D. Wight is a partner in the Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. offices and is the chair of the firm's International Employment Practice Group.  He counsels employers on various global employment, compensation and benefit issues related to employees abroad, as well as foreign nationals working in the U.S. and the employment of the U.S. permanent residents and citizens abroad.  Bill has worked with compliance issues related to hiring, retention and separation of employees in a multitude of jurisdictions.  His experience with global employment issues has helped him assist our clients with international operations on all sevel continents including Antarctica.  Bill has assisted clients with the implementation of strategic planning and policy development with respect to global HR practices and policies.  He has also assisted clients with the management of litigation and employment controversy matters in numerous international jurisdictions.  Bill has also counseled clients based outside the United States with the special considerations that are required when complying with U.S. employment and employee benefit rules and regulations. Bill is regularly involved with resolving questions related to privacy and data protection issues.  

Keith Epstein (SPHR, GPHR, and SHRM-SCP) is a Legal Investigator in the Employment, Labor, and Benefits Legal Group at Intel Corporation.  He has a Master’s Degree in Organizational Development and has worked for Intel for 20 years including training, organizational development, human resources generalist, and for the last 10 years, as an investigator for human resources-related charges and lawsuits.  Mr. Epstein is involved in global labor relations particularly in Asia and in setting Intel’s global employment guidelines.  Keith is also considered one of Intel’s subject matter experts on gender transition matters.

David Brennan brings more than 25 years of financial, operations, and human resource experience to his role as general manager at Achievers. He has held senior management positions at large financial and technology organizations such as Coopers & Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers) and Bank of Montreal, as well as high-growth companies like PixStream Incorporated (acquired by Cisco Systems). Brennan graduated from the University of Prince Edward Island with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

John A. Rubino, SHRM-SCP, CCP, CBP, GRP, WLCP, is founder and president of Rubino Consulting Services, a global human resources consulting company based in Pound Ridge, New York. His areas of expertise cover all areas of Human Resources program design. An internationally acclaimed speaker for SHRM and WorldatWork, John is the author of numerous human resources articles, and is frequently quoted in professional publications. He holds BA and MBA degrees, as well as a lifetime Achievement Award from WorldatWork. John works with a wide variety of organizations and his consulting practice takes him all around the world; in fact, he has visited one hundred and nine countries!

Internationally recognized as an expert in the field, Mr. Kushner is one of the nation's most sought after speakers on HR strategy and employee benefits. He has advised four U.S. Presidents on health care and has testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee and the U.S. House Small Business Committee on employee benefit issues.

A frequent resource to the media, Mr. Kushner contributes to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, AP, Knight-Ridder, the Kiplinger Washington Newsletter, CNN News, Fortune, MSNBC and Good Morning America among others. More importantly, he and his wife Tamis have five children and four wonderful (and amazing!) grandchildren.