GECN Leadership

Our talented team extends beyond borders. As the founding partner of the Global Governance and Executive Compensation Group (GECN Group), Farient works closely with the following senior leaders of partner firms to bring best-in-class services to clients around the world. In a borderless world, we are providing seamless services anywhere our clients do business.

Gabe Shawn Varges

Senior Partner, Chair GECN
HCM International, Switzerland

Gabe has extensive international advisory and executive experience in governance, compensation, regulation, and compliance, both in the private and public sectors. He specializes on governance and compensation strategy and policy, and on advising boards and the heads of key functions in the context of emerging market and regulatory international developments, including in the European Union.  Prior to joining HCM, he was Head of Governance (including remuneration) of Switzerland’s combined banking, insurance and securities regulator, in which capacity he dealt with regulators from around the world.  Gabe has served on several professional boards and teaches governance and related subjects at the University of St. Gallen Executive School.  His publications include, among others, “Governing Remuneration” and “Incentives to the Promote and Protect the Compliance Program”.  Gabe holds a B.A., M.A., and J.D. degrees from Harvard University.

Stephan Hostettler

Managing Partner
HCM International,  Switzerland

Stephan has been active as an entrepreneur and consultant in Switzerland, the U.S., Europe and other international markets for almost 15 years. Prior to this, he worked in Switzerland for a major bank in the area of financial analysis and in the USA in consulting on corporate finance and corporate governance.  His main areas include performance management, valued-based  management, Board advisory and support. His expertise also covers governance structures and processes around compensation, owner strategies, governance practices and tracking of regulatory developments. Within his projects, he is also active in disclosure management and stakeholder communication as well as corporate trainings and advising control functions. He holds a doctorate degree in finance and a Master Degree in Business Administration.

Michael Robinson

Co-founder and Executive Director, Vice-Chair CEGN
Guerdon Associates, Australia

Michael consults to the boards and top executives of several of the world’s largest companies on human capital, performance management and executive remuneration matters in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.  Michael introduced Australian public companies to many of the innovations in executive remuneration that are now standard practice.  Prior to founding Guerdon Associates, Michael was, respectively, the founder and CEO of a leading US compensation consulting firm, US regional practice leader and a worldwide partner of Mercer Consulting Group, and, in Australia, founded and led the regional human capital and reward practices for Mercer and, before that, Hewitt. Michael has graduate and post graduate qualifications in psychology from Swinburne University, and an MBA from the University of Melbourne.

Wei Zheng

Partner, GECN Treasurer
Hy Delta, China

Wei has about 20 years of HR consulting experience in the US, Asia, and Greater China with Mercer. Wei is an economist by education and his expertise is in executive remuneration, HC strategy, workforce analytics, incentive design, performance measurement, and leadership development. Wei holds a PhD. in economics from New York University.

Robin Ferracone

Founding Partner, Chairman
Farient Advisors LLC, United States

Robin has over 30 years of consulting experience advising clients in the areas of business and talent strategies, executive compensation, organization, value management and performance measurement. Prior to founding Farient in 2007, Robin was president of the global Human Capital business of Mercer, a business which included talent and compensation consulting, software, and data services globally. Robin is the author of numerous articles on compensation and performance, is a frequent presenter for prominent organizations and is quoted regularly in national publications. Robin received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar and a B.A. summa cum laude in Management Science and Economics from Duke University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Johan Grundlingh

Founding Partner
Carrots Consulting, Singapore

Johan is a Founding Partner and CEO of Carrots Consulting Pte Ltd, a human resource management consulting firm based in Singapore and established since 2000. He has over 24 years of experience in human resource consulting, of which he has been in Singapore for almost 20 years and is well versed with human resource practices in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region. Johan specialises in people-pay-performance management strategies covering executive compensation and human resources consulting.

Paul Norris

Partner
MM&K, United Kingdom

Paul Norris is the Chief Executive Officer of United Kingdom based MM&K. Paul holds a Masters graduate in Law and Barrister. Paul started his career with MWP Incentives Limited, then spent a period in merchant banking before joining the buy-in team that created MM&K in 1985. He advises a wide range of remuneration committees on business-linked remuneration strategies and is experienced in the design and implementation of cash and share based incentive plans.

Jean-Claude Sobel

Partner
Essere Associés, France

Jean-Claude Sobel is a Partner of the Consulting Company Essere Associes. He is an expert in governance, HR function, and executives’ compensation package, at an international level. Sobel has a broad range of experience through his international board level responsibilities during fifteen years, in various fields : real estate, industry, computers, oil service, insurance, consulting.

Jean Lambrechts

Partner
Essere Associés, France

Jean Lambrechts is a Partner of the Consulting Company Essere Associes. Jean is a renowned expert in executive compensation. He works with HR, finance, investor relations, executive officers, and boards on compensation and governance matters. His clients include large public companies, private family-owned businesses and cooperatives. Lambrechts holds an MBA from the University of Chicago (US) and graduated as « ingénieur commercial » at the University of Louvain (Belgium). Jean is fluent in French, English and Dutch.