Employee Share Schemes and Incentives

Chris is a Legal Director (Partner equivalent) and is Tapestry’s “UK Counsel”, both internally and externally. Chris has over 20 years of experience working with top-ranked legal and incentives teams delivering UK and global plan design and implementation.

Chris is widely-recognised for his substantial expertise in incentive matters for all business types. He can draw upon a deep range of experience when providing practical and proactive, solution-driven advice on discretionary executive plans, corporate governance and remuneration disclosures, as well as advising on broader employment related tax issues. He also has significant expertise in dealing with Employee Benefit Trusts and private equity-owned businesses.

Chris’s clients include London Stock Exchange Group, CMC Markets, Entain and Sage, as well as Vertical Aerospace and Spirax Sarco.

Chris regularly presents at many industry events including those run by industry body ProShare, sharing his expert knowledge with the market, and is a member of the ProShare Advisory Board. He has also assisted ProShare with successfully lobbying HMRC and the government on various industry issues, including discussions around how the UK Government’s recent tax changes will impact share plans affecting the wider workforce.

Chris has recently been invited by representatives of the Japanese Government to assist their awareness and understanding of the UK’s incentive framework and global practice to help improve the equivalent regulatory framework in Japan and increase the use and effectiveness of incentives in that country.

Chris’s role as Tapestry Board Director for the Employee Ownership Trust gives him invaluable practical experience of structuring employee-focussed solutions, from within.

Chris is severely sight impaired (blind) and is a member of The Society of Visually Impaired Lawyers.

2015 - date:   Tapestry Compliance 2008 - 2015:  Travers Smith LLP 2007 - 2008:  Charles Russell LLP 2004 - 2007:  Smith & Williamson 1999 - 2004:  Ernst & Young 2003 - Qualified, Ernst & Young

Member of, and regular speaker for, many equity incentive industry bodies including The Global Equity Organisation (GEO), ProShare, The Share Plan Lawyers Group and NASPP.

Sheffield University (Law LLB)