Enabling dual careers in the global workplace
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About us

Meet the people who make Permits Foundation possible.

Patrons

Permits Foundation has top-level corporate support, with several chief executives of major global organisations acting as patrons.

Andrew Gould

Andrew Gould

Board member – Occidental Petroleum and Board member – McDermott International

Leena Nair

Leena Nair

Global CEO – Chanel

Satish Pai

Satish Pai

Managing Director – Hindalco at Aditya Birla Group

Olivier le Peuch

Olivier le Peuch

CEO – SLB

Peter Voser

Peter Voser

Chairman of the Board – ABB Ltd.

Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors meets quarterly to approve strategy and review progress.

Jo Bartnicke

Jo Bartnicke

Employee Experience Director – Unilever

Fabrice Bouchaud

Fabrice Bouchaud

Group Chief HR Officer – ADA

Erica Bryant

Erica Bryant

Vice President HR Policy – Shell and Treasurer – Permits Foundation Board

Philippe Cabanettes

Philippe Cabanettes

Director – Permits Foundation Board 

Siobhan Cummings

Siobhan Cummins

Director – Permits Foundation Board 

Gill Gorden

Gill Gordon

Chairperson – Permits Foundation Board

Christelle Labbe

Christelle Labbé

Head of HR, United Kingdom – SLB

Matthias Lommers

Matthias Lommers

Partner, Global Employer Services – Deloitte

Julia Onslow Cole

Julia Onslow-Cole

Partner, Global Government Strategies & Compliance – Fragomen

Kathleen van der Wilk

Kathleen van der Wilk

Director – Permits Foundation Board 

Team

The Permits Foundation team converts strategy into action in the form of international advocacy, research, events, media and stakeholder engagement.

Helen F

Helen Frew

Director – Permits Foundation

Françoise

Françoise van Roosmalen

Foundation Coordinator – Permits Foundation

Kathleen Travaille

Kathleen Travaille

Communications Manager – Permits Foundation

Jen Vosler

Jen Vosler

Legal Researcher – Permits Foundation

Contact us

Have a question or want to learn more about our work?
Fill out the form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

For general enquiriesInternational office / The Netherlands
  • For visits in person (by appointment):
    Carel van Bylandtlaan 16
    2596 HR The Hague
  • Write to us at:
    Permits Foundation, P.O Box 162
    2501 AN The Hague
Andrew Gould

Andrew Gould

Board member – Occidental Petroleum and Board member – McDermott International

‘’ (1)

In a period when free trade is being questioned and immigration is under scrutiny from governments, the ability of business to continue to operate world-wide will depend on its capacity to attract mobile top talent to facilitate business relationships in international operations. Top talent will not be mobile if partners are excluded from the workplace in an age when women are increasingly part of the professional workforce. Today’s communication technology and social media cannot replace the experience of living and working in another country and culture. Permits Foundation has made significant progress and merits all our encouragement and support.

Mr Gould is a Board member of Occidental Petroleum and McDermott International. He is Partner and Chairman of the CSL Capital Management Energy Council and Chairman of Kayrros Advisory Board. He is Chairman of the BCG Advisory Centre for Energy Impact.

Following his 37-year career with SLB serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 2003 to 2011, he was Chairman of BG Group from 2012 until its sale to Shell in 2016. He was previously a Board member at Saudi Aramco and Rio Tinto. He served on the United Kingdom Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology from 2004 to 2007. He was Vice-chairman of Technology for the United States National Petroleum Councils’ 2007 report “Facing the Hard Truths about Energy.” In addition, he was awarded the Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold Medal by the Society of Petroleum Engineers in 2014.

Mr. Gould has an undergraduate degree in Economic History from the University of Wales at Cardiff. He holds an honorary Doctorate in Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and is an Honorary Fellow at Cardiff University.

Leena Nair

Leena Nair

Global CEO – Chanel

‘’ (1)

In supporting Permits Foundation, international companies can convince governments with one voice that they need to allow a continuation of careers for partners, if they want experts working in their countries."

Leena Nair joined Hindustan Unilever in 1992 as a trainee. Over the next twenty years, she undertook a wide range of HR roles in India before becoming Global Senior Vice President for Leadership and Organisational Development and Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion in 2013. Leena became Chief HR Officer in 2016 – the youngest and first female ever to do so.

After 30 years with Unilever, Leena Nair was appointed Global Chief Executive Officer of Chanel in January 2022. She is based in London, UK.

In June 2025 she was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for her outstanding work and strong leadership in the global retail and consumer industry.

Satish Pai

Satish Pai

Managing Director – Hindalco at Aditya Birla Group

‘’ (1)

We live, work and operate in a global environment. Just as the need for good talent is a commonality across several geographies, so is the need felt by individuals for work support in local environments. Permits Foundation supports both, organizations and individuals, in this regard. Organizations get access to a quality talent pool, and spouses and partners get access to workforce opportunities. I believe this is a much-needed solution that will enable companies, individuals and local economies to thrive.

After taking charge as the CEO of Hindalco’s Aluminium Business in August 2013, Satish Pai was the driving force behind three mega green-field projects that established Hindalco as among the biggest producers of primary aluminium in Asia. He is also on the Board of Hindalco subsidiary Novelis – the world’s largest aluminium rolling and recycling company.

In February 2014, Satish was appointed as the Deputy Managing Director of the company and was entrusted with Hindalco’s copper business. He became the Managing Director of Hindalco (including the Novelis business) in August 2016, where he oversees the Indian metals business and guides Novelis’ operations globally.

Prior to joining the Aditya Birla Group, Satish worked with SLB based out of Paris. Over the course of his 28-year illustrious career with the MNC, he held various important positions and was responsible for SLB operations globally.

Satish holds a patent in directional drilling. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award by IIT in 2017 and was conferred the Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa (D.Litt) by Ajeenkya DY Patil University in 2020.

Satish serves as Director on the boards of Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt. Ltd. and ABB, Zurich. He is the Vice Chairman of the International Aluminium Institute, the Vice President and Chairman – Non Ferrous, Indian Institute of Metals,Vice President & Chairman of the Government Affairs Committee of the Aluminium Association of India and Chairman of FICCI’s Non-Ferrous Metals Committee.

A great believer in all-round development and fitness, Satish plays badminton and squash and works out regularly in the gym.

Olivier le Peuch

Olivier le Peuch

CEO – SLB

‘’ (1)

The work of Permits Foundation means a lot to all of us, especially those who can benefit from this mobility support. I am very pleased to continue supporting it, am honoured to be a Patron of Permits, and I trust the foundation will do very well in the future.

Olivier Le Peuch is chief executive officer of SLB, a position he assumed in August 2019. Prior to his current position, he served as the company’s chief operating officer. Le Peuch previously held various global management roles, including executive vice president of Reservoir & Infrastructure; president of the Cameron Group; president of SLB Completions; vice president of Engineering, Manufacturing, and Sustaining; and president of Software Integrated Solutions.

In addition, Le Peuch held a number of leadership roles, including management of technology development in both Europe and the United States. He joined SLB in 1987 as an electrical engineer and spent his early career in custom software integration and development and in high-temperature electronics development for wireline equipment.

Le Peuch earned an electrical engineering degree from the Bordeaux Engineering School and a research master degree in microelectronics from the Bordeaux University of Science.

Peter Voser

Peter Voser

Chairman of the Board – ABB Ltd.

‘’ (1)

Global companies need mobile international staff to transfer knowledge, skills and technology that go hand in hand with international investment. For host countries, that helps to stimulate local employment and growth. These highly-skilled employees and their partners represent a talent pool that complements local employees and refreshes human capital without placing any long-term burden on government services.

Peter Voser has been Chairman of ABB’s Board of Directors since 2015.

He also served as ABB’s Chief Executive Officer from April 2019 to February 2020 and as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Committee member from 2002 to 2004.

Voser was CEO of Royal Dutch Shell from 2009 to 2013, and CFO and Executive Director of Royal Dutch Shell from 2004 to 2009. He began his career at Royal Dutch Shell in 1982, where he held several senior management and executive roles in Europe and Latin America until 2002.

Voser is a member of the board of directors of IBM Corporation (USA), and of Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited (Singapore) as well as Group Chairman of the board of directors of Temasek’s subsidiary PSA International Pte Ltd (Singapore). He is also a member of the Asia Business Council and Chairman of the Board of the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies. In June 2019, he was made an honorary director of Catalyst, a non-profit organization which champions women leaders.

Voser obtained his degree in business administration from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland.

Jo Bartnicke

Jo Bartnicke

Employee Experience Director – Unilever

Jo Bartnicke, Employee Experience Director, heads up HR Operations for Global Mobility, Reward, Performance & Talent, and Payroll at Unilever. A South African based in London, with experience across many different roles and projects during her 8 years within HR. She is passionate about leading teams to transform and innovate, while delivering both a business and social impact.

Fabrice Bouchaud

Fabrice Bouchaud

Group Chief HR Officer – ADA

‘’ (1)

In a world where markets are ever more globalized and where the pace of business transformation keeps accelerating, mobility is essential to ensure operational agility and nurture global talents. With dual careers having become the norm, the mission of the Permits Foundation is critical and requires the commitment of forward-looking businesses and stakeholders.

Fabrice Bouchaud brings over 30 years of HR leadership experience in the Oil & Gas, Defence Technology and Aviation industries. He has a unique multicultural and cross-regional exposure, having had the chance to live and work across 5 continents. In his last role as Vice President for Talent and Strategic Workforce Planning, Fabrice was the architect behind the redesign of the company’s career mobility model and the launch of new innovative mobility and career management digital tools. Fabrice is a graduate from Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris (“Sciences-Po”) and holds a Master in International Relations and Finance from the London School of Economics.

Erica Bryant

Erica Bryant

Vice President HR Policy – Shell and Treasurer – Permits Foundation Board

Erica Bryant is the Vice President of HR Policy for Shell where she leads an organisation accountable for developing and delivering global HR policy and benefits strategy. Her organisation stewards global HR policies and benefits, including global Performance Management and International Mobility.

Erica serves as Chair of the US Pension and Provident Fund Trustees, is a member of the US Senior Black Leadership Forum and serves as Secretary for an external, non-profit board. She began her career in Human Resources with Deloitte and brings over 28 years of both business-facing and center of excellence experience to her work.  While her career has allowed her to work in New York City, Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston and the Netherlands.

Philippe Cabanettes

Philippe Cabanettes

Director – Permits Foundation Board 

‘’ (1)

Those who have seen potential expatriates turn down an excellent job offer in another country because of the inability of their partner to work, understand why the mission of Permits Foundation is so important. Thanks to its hard work advocating change to governments, and with the support of its sponsors, Permits Foundation has improved the track record of successful expatriations.

Gemalto needs internationally mobile staff to move from any country to any other country. This is part of our business and also our employee’s development. We have been a long-term loyal supporter of Permits Foundation and I am now proud to serve on the board to contribute to its sustainable results.

Philippe Cabanettes has been the Executive Vice-President of Human Resources at Gemalto since 2006. Prior to this, he was VP of Human Resources at Axalto (2004-2006); Director of Personnel for Schlumberger’s Volume Products business (2001-2004) and Director of Personnel for Schlumberger’s Resources Management Services division (1997-2001). He previously held various positions with worldwide responsibility for Human Resources in the petroleum, industrial and services sectors of the SLB group, and was based in France, Italy and the US. He has served as a Board member and then as President of PartnerJob.com, a non-profit, cross-industry organization facilitating Dual Career management, from 2002 to 2015. Philippe is a graduate from Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris (“Sciences-Po”) and holds a Master in Economics from Université de Paris X.

Siobhan Cummings

Siobhan Cummins

Director – Permits Foundation Board 

‘’ (1)

As more companies expand internationally, the need to relocate top talent is making partner employment an ever more important issue. Work permit restrictions in the host country can be a deal breaker for families and can even lead to assignment failure at huge cost to the organisation. Having been involved with Permits Foundation from the start, I remain fully committed to supporting the vital job of working with governments to bring about change.

Siobhan is a Strategic Mobility Advisor and thought leader on Global Mobility. Currently supporting Pandora as Interim Director of Global Mobility.

She was previously Global Head of Mobility for Naspers, (Prosus) and before that an Associate Partner with EY where she led the Mobility Performance Improvement team for EMEIA. She has over 35 years’ experience in Global Mobility as both a practitioner and consultant having worked for ORC Worldwide, Mercer, Thomson Reuters, Deloitte and EY.

Siobhan has extensive experience in large mobility transformation projects including mobility strategy, programme improvement, change management, M&A’s etc. She has a proven track record in global mobility with a strong reputation in the marketplace.

She has lived and worked in Asia, Africa, Australia and the Middle East. A Companion of the CIPD, Member of SHRM, and World at Work. She is a Partner with Talent Mobility Search, a Board member of the Permits Foundation, Advisor to NetExpat, Certino, Global Expat Pay and Global Mobility Executive.

Siobhan is passionate about global mobility and in 2010 received the first FEM award for her outstanding contribution to the field.  She currently runs her own consulting firm SC Worldwide specialising in strategic mobility consulting, speaking, and meeting facilitation, mentoring etc.

She was recently voted one of the top 100 mobility professionals in the world.

Gill Gorden

Gill Gordon

Chairperson – Permits Foundation Board

‘’ (1)

When we started Permits Foundation, we did wonder how we would ever manage to change the opinion of Governments. What we didn’t anticipate was that many of the decision-makers have encountered the dual career issue themselves, either through their own or their partner’s experience, or that of their children.

For many people, we strike a chord. Twenty-five years ago at Schlumberger international dual career couples were the exception but today there are literally thousands and the number is rising rapidly across most international organisations. Doing what we can to facilitate and encourage those careers is a business imperative and I’m delighted to be contributing to that effort.

Gill Gordon is Chair of Permits Foundation and has been a Board Member since its establishment in 2001. Gill spent most of her career with SLB and her last appointment was as HR Director UK from 2014 to 2020, based in London. She held many different positions including HR Director for the global seismic business WesternGeco, Director Executive Compensation for SLB, and HR Director for the global R&D population. She played a key role in setting up and developing a shared services organisation for the HR function in Europe, Caspian and Africa and was also HR Director for a global electricity and gas utilities business.

Gill was involved in a number of strategic initiatives in the areas of career development, diversity and mobility as well as numerous acquisitions and divestitures. During her career, she spent over twelve years in international assignments in France, Germany and the US. Gill started her career in international HR at Ford Motor Company and has a BA Hons. in French & German from Heriot-Watt University.

Christelle Labbe

Christelle Labbé

Head of HR, United Kingdom – SLB

‘’ (1)

Working in an international environment has always attracted me and this was one of the reasons why I chose to start my career at SLB. Global mobility is part of SLB’s DNA. This truly multicultural environment offers enriching and exciting opportunities for our international staff and their mobile families who want to grow and that is why a collective effort to safeguard good policy and promote improvement to immigration legislation is so important.

As a family we have experienced the challenges for an accompanying spouse to find a job and get the right to work in a country where we did not expect such difficulties. Therefore it is important for companies like SLB, with a diverse mobile work force, that partners have the certainty they can access employment while joining the main employee on an assignment. This will positively impact talent acquisition and retention.
I am very pleased to be on the board of Permits Foundation representing SLB and supporting dual careers in the global workplace.

Christelle Labbe joined the Permits Foundation Board in Dec 2020. With over 20 years experience in HR management & Talent development at SLB she experienced herself global mobility early on with various assignments in Europe (Belgium, France), Asia (Singapore, China) and the UK where she spent a large part of her career. She came back to London in Sept 2020 as UK HR Manager for SLB.

She has been involved in several companies integration, transformation of HR Services and leading key initiatives to foster Diversity & Inclusion. She holds a Master in Business Management from EDHEC, France.

Matthias Lommers

Matthias Lommers

Partner, Global Employer Services – Deloitte

Matthias is a member of Deloitte’s Global Immigration Leadership Team and he heads Deloitte Belgium’s Immigration and Social Security practice. Deloitte’s global immigration practice was established over 25 years ago and covers over 140 countries.

Matthias has a background as an employment lawyer and has over 20 years of experience in providing legal mobility advice to a wide range of international clients.

He has a keen interest in the ever-growing link between employment law, tax, social security and immigration in a world where governments are more global and more connected than ever, driving a change in immigration no longer being a standalone discipline.

Julia Onslow Cole

Julia Onslow-Cole

Partner, Global Government Strategies & Compliance – Fragomen

‘’ (1)

As a practicing lawyer advising on immigration for many years now, I’ve witnessed first hand the emotional trauma that harsh immigration rules have on a family when it’s impossible for a partner to work. Indeed, such is the negative impact that I’ve seen many cases which led to the family splitting up. That’s why I’m passionate about supporting work for partners – it’s not just important for companies, it’s also of real benefit for families.

Julia Onslow-Cole is a Partner at Fragomen specialising in Global Government Strategies and Compliance supporting clients worldwide to optimise global mobility strategies, enhance compliance and leverage best practice in all critical immigration related policies including crisis management. Before joining Fragomen Julia was a Partner, Legal Markets Leader and Head of Global Immigration at PwC.

Julia liaised with the UK Government and business on Brexit and gave expert evidence at the European Parliament. Julia has represented business at the Prime Minister’s immigration stock take meeting, was a formal advisor to the Home Office on business, investment and growth and participates in stakeholder engagement. Julia sits on  the Board of Directors of the Dubai International Chamber, an appointment approved by the ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed. Julia is also the Chair of the Board of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chair of the Board of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute Charitable Trust.

Julia is the co-signatory of a number of reports on the impact of migration and is publicly recognised as a thought leader in global immigration.

In 2021 Julia was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Global Mobility Award by the Forum for Expatriate Management.

In 2023 Julia was included in the Think Women 40 Outstanding Global Women List.

Kathleen van der Wilk

Kathleen van der Wilk

Director – Permits Foundation Board 

‘’ (1)

Literally thousands of partners have told us how being able to work contributed to their willingness to move and the success of their assignment abroad. It also had a positive impact on their integration into the host country as well as their family relationships and overall well-being.

More and more countries recognize this, as well as the benefit for their own workforce that comes from the exchange of international skills and experience. Where countries don’t yet allow partners to work, it’s our mission to encourage them to review their regulations and to provide them with evidence of the needs and the benefits of adopting best practice.

Kathleen van der Wilk-Carlton led the initiative to create Permits Foundation in 2001. Board member and Executive director from 2001 to 2016, she successfully led our early campaigns for the relevant immigration law and regulations in Europe, UK, Asia, the USA and Brazil.

Kathleen has 40 years’ experience in international HR management, initially with the Shell Group in the UK, Latin America and the Netherlands, and later as an independent consultant. Her roles included managing expatriate policy development and services, staff planning and development, employee relations, remuneration policy, international recruitment and strategic manpower planning.

Helen F

Helen Frew

Director – Permits Foundation

Helen Frew has over 20 years of international advocacy experience spent in the UK, Brussels and The Hague. Much of her career has involved working within member organisations, representing organisations and companies from the public and private spheres, developing advocacy strategy and bringing evidence-based recommendations to government. As Director of Permits Foundation, Helen is responsible for the overall strategy and global advocacy activities. Though Helen joined Permits Foundation in 2017, her connection dates back to 2010 when she consulted on the Foundation’s successful campaign to insert a clause enabling family employment access into the EU wide intra-corporate transferee Directive.

Email: helen.frew@permitsfoundation.com

Françoise

Françoise van Roosmalen

Foundation Coordinator – Permits Foundation

As Foundation Coordinator, Françoise van Roosmalen’s role includes management of the sponsor network, financial affairs, and also strategic work, particularly in the APAC region. Many of you know Françoise as she has been with the Foundation for more than 20 years. Before joining the Foundation she worked – after living 8 years in Asia – for the Shell Spouse Employment Centre in The Hague. She assisted partners with pursuing their careers abroad, including advice on self-employment, study or voluntary work

Email: francoise.vanroosmalen@permitsfoundation.com

Kathleen Travaille

Kathleen Travaille

Communications Manager – Permits Foundation

Kathleen Travaille joined Permits Foundation in 2023 as our Communications Manager and is responsible for communicating the work of the Foundation to key audiences. Kathleen brings with her a Juris Doctorate specialising in international law, and nearly a decade worth of experience crafting marketing and communication strategies for law firms and corporations internationally.

Email: kathleen.travaille@permitsfoundation.com

Jen Vosler

Jen Vosler

Legal Researcher – Permits Foundation

Jen joined Permits Foundation in 2023. She is the Foundation’s Legal Researcher and is responsible for maintaining and expanding the Foundation’s World Map and contributes to its global advocacy efforts. A California-licensed attorney (inactive), Jen brings over a decade of legal experience to the role. Before moving to the Netherlands, she served as West Coast Managing Clerk in the Court Procedures Group at Goodwin, a global law firm, where she focused on litigation support and procedural compliance.

Email: jen.vosler@permitsfoundation.com

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