Speakers
Paula Holland
Session
Whatever your focus – founder engagement, scaling up through funding rounds and international hires, preparing for an exit – we all know compensation is key.
This session will cover current trends and legal considerations for compensation throughout the life cycle of private companies, as seen by Jody Thelander of J. Thelander Consulting and Paula Holland, a partner in the Compensation & Benefits team at Cooley LLP, so bring your questions around option pools, types of equity awards, vesting, dilution and benchmarking to throw into what promises to be a morning of lively debate.
The session will create space for open peer discussion and shared insight around approaches, challenges and practical considerations in private company settings. A structured speed-networking element will provide opportunities to connect with fellow leaders, strengthen relationships and broaden your network within the BIA Women in Biotech community.
Strictly invite-only.
Paula Holland has more than 20 years’ experience of executive compensation and equity incentives in the UK, the US and internationally. Companies turn to Paula for advice and transactional support throughout their life cycle as they build their businesses, expand internationally and plan their exits. Paula is skilled in advising multi-nationals, both public and private, on the incentive aspects of their most strategic transactions including M&As, with a focus on private equity, IPOs, and SPACs. She also assists remuneration committees in their determinations relating to retention and incentive arrangements for board members and senior management.
Paula’s key areas of work include:
Paula regularly contributes to Cooley led programs such as Comp Talks, IPO Institute, HR Network, Future50 and UpScale to ensure clients are kept up to date on the latest legal developments and best practices within the incentives space.
She is consistently recognised by Chambers UK and the Legal 500 as a leading lawyer, with clients noting:
“Paula Holland comes recommended for her ‘world-class substantive knowledge of equity matters’ and her ‘great client skills.’ She offers a wealth of experience advising on compensation and equity incentives.”
Paula Holland is “incredibly experienced and helpful in her advice.”
Paula Holland is “excellent – she understands our needs and demands as second nature, and her speed of delivery is exceptional.”
J.Thelander Consulting is headed by Jody K. Thelander, a compensation executive with more than twenty years of professional experience. Jody has a keen understanding of business through a diversified background in compensation, sales and customer service. The Thelander Surveys and Reports have become a well-respected and highly desired tool for compensation decision-makers in the private business sector.
Jody speaks publicly on executive compensation, investment firm and corporate venture compensation topics, including events hosted by PitchBook, NVCA, LaunchBio and Stanford. She is frequently published as a compensation expert in Axios, Forbes, Fortune and the Wall Street Journal.
Jody earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Consumer Studies at the University of Vermont and a Masters Degree in Human Resources at Marymount University. Her career began in the fashion retailing industry with British Vogue, Ralph Lauren Womenswear, Bonwit Teller and Garfinkels in London, New York and Washington, DC. Jody also spent ten years in human resources with TRW Space and Defense both in Washington DC, and San Francisco, before starting her own firm.