Expatriate Management Committee
September 17-19, 2003
Outlined below is a summary of the semi-annual meeting of the NFTC’s Expatriate
Management Committee (EMC) held in Minnetonka, MN. Participants included
representatives from:
3M
American Express
Bank of America
Boeing
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Cargill
Cemex
Cisco Systems
Citigroup
Coca-Cola
Colgate-Palmolive
Corning
Delphi
duPont
Eastman Kodak
EDS
Fluor
Ford Motor Company
General Electric
General Motors
Gillette
GlaxoSmithKline
Hewlett Packard
IBM
Intel
Lucent
McDonald’s
Medtronic
Microsoft
Motorola
NCR
NFTC
Nortel Networks
PepsiCo
Philip Morris International
Procter & Gamble
Raytheon
Schlumberger Oilfield Services
Shell International
Unilever
Wal-Mart
Thank you to Bob Ernt of Cargill, Judy Knepp of 3M, and their colleagues for co-hosting
the EMC meeting.
Open Forum Discussion
The group discussed policy and process issues that are being working on, including:
 Country-specific updates (China, India, Russia, Iraq, Thailand)
 Localization challenges in general and specific to countries such as China
 Developing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to mobility
management
 Changes in international assignee demographics (age, job level, country of
origin)
 Data systems that capture expatriate costs
Company Profile: Cargill
Bob Ernt provided an overview of the history and current business of Cargill.
Company Profile: 3M
Angie Lalor gave an overview of 3M’s global business and of its expatriate program.
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Expatriate Management Committee
September 17-19, 2003
Company Profile: Unilever
Sue Backholer of Unilever provided an overview of the company. In recent years the
company has rationalized its products down to about 400 from several thousand.
Historically the company has operated as a “multi-local multinational.” It recently
moved from a regionally focused structure to being split into Foods and Home and
Personal Care groups. Unilever expects Asia will be its future growth market.
Intra-Regional Assignment Alternatives
A poll was conducted to identify significant differences that affect intra-regional versus
inter-regional transfers.
Self-Service Technology Applications for International Assignments
Loretta Allard of GE and Michael Schell and Charlene Solomon of ReloWizard presented
on the use of technology. GE’s Global Mobile Employees (GMEs) can access
information through a global mobility website. The GE assignment initiation process can:
produce assignment cost projections; explain relocation packages including allowances
and benefits; and is linked with all of the relevant parties.
Michael Schell and Charlene Solomon reviewed the objectives of a self-service website,
including:
 Ease of navigation
 Availability of information 24/7
 Automated checklists
 Accessible on worldwide web and intranet
 Be as comprehensive as possible
They also described its uses, including cross-cultural assessment and awareness/training.
Global Demographic Trends and Their Impact on Global Human Resources and
International Assignments
Mary Tan, Director – Global Market Intelligence at Colgate Palmolive, reviewed socioeconomic trends (regional differences, aging populations, diversity, and attitudes and
lifestyles). Mary related the findings of her research to future workforce and global
mobility.
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Expatriate Management Committee
September 17-19, 2003
Welcome New EMC Members
Sara J. Phillips, representing Delphi Corporation, and Joe Mongrain, representing
Schlumberger Oilfield Services, were voted in as members of the EMC.
Online Cost Estimating Tools
Muriel Eason of Intel, Dimitri Vigushin of Microsoft, and Sally Wicks of General Motors
demonstrated the online expatriate cost estimating tools that their corporations utilize.
Letters of Assignment
Frank Charbonier of Pepsi and Judy Knepp of 3M led discussions on the format and
utilization of letters of assignment.
Steering Committee Leadership
Warren Heaps of Colgate-Palmolive has completed his three year term on the EMC
Steering Committee. Thank you, Warren, for your leadership. Sally Wicks of General
Motors will join the Steering Committee.
ORC Survey Update
The group was updated on the status of the special surveys being conducted by ORC
including the Policy and Practices Survey, in which fifty three companies participated,
and the planned Expatriate Cost and Administrative Performance Surveys that are being
developed.
Organization Structure for International Assignment Services
Carl Brosman of Boeing, Harry Gram of IBM, Alejandro Lopez of Cemex, and Nancy
Reisig of Ford Motor Company discussed the structure of their respective international
assignment services organizations.
Future Meetings of the Expatriate Management Committee:
March 10-12, 2004: Scottsdale, AZ
September 2004: Boston, MA
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