PERMITS FOUNDATION - Key Persons


Andrew Gould

Job Titles:
  • Board Member of Occidental Petroleum and McDermott International. Former Chairman and CEO of Schlumberger, and Board Member Saudi Aramco
"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 Schlumberger 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.

Bona Kwak

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Associate Director, US Immigration Counsel, Novartis
Bona Kwak is a US immigration attorney focusing her practice on US business immigration and compliance as well as global immigration. As Immigration Counsel, Bona has been managing US and global immigration programs for Novartis. Before joining Novartis, Bona represented both large multinational companies and small start-ups in various industries in the area of global mobility and employment-based immigration.

Christelle Labbe

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • HR Manager, Schlumberger UK
"Working in an international environment has always attracted me and this was one of the reasons why I chose to start my career at Schlumberger. Global mobility is part of Schlumberger'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 Schlumberger, 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 Schlumberger 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 Schlumberger she experienced herself global mobility early on with various assignments in Europe (Belgium, France), Asia (Singapore, Shanghai) 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 Schlumberger. She has been involved in several companies integration, transformation of HR Services and relocation of HR support center to Asia as well as setting up Service Quality systems and training for the HR function. She holds a Master in Business Management from EDHEC, France.

Dr. Anne Cockwell

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Head of Global Assignments, Volkswagen AG, Germany

Erica Bryant

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Trustee for the Shell Pension Trust
  • Vice President of HR Policy for Shell
Erica Bryant is the Vice President of HR Policy for Shell where she leads a global organisation accountable for developing and delivering HR policies. Her organisation manages all global HR Policy (excluding Reward) inclusive of Performance Management and International Mobility. She began her career with Shell in 2000 as an HR Account Manager in New Orleans, Louisiana. Erica serves as a Trustee for the Shell Pension Trust and Shell Provident Fund, is a member of the US Senior Black Leadership Forum (SBLF), leads the North America Community Circles as part of the NA HR Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan and serves as Secretary for an external, non-profit board. Erica has worked in New Orleans, Houston and The Netherlands with roles spanning Shell's integrated business portfolio and she started her career in New York City with Deloitte. She is married and has two children.

Fabrice Bouchaud

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Group SVP Human Capital, EDGE Group
Fabrice Bouchaud brings over 30 years of HR leadership experience in the energy and technology industry, having worked most of his career for Schumberger. Fabrice 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.

Francoise van Roosmalen

Job Titles:
  • Foundation Coordinator

Gill Gordon - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Chairman, Permits Foundation Board
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 Schlumberger 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 Schlumberger, 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 ten years in expatriate 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.

Helen Frew

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Director, the Netherlands
Helen Frew has 20 years of international advocacy experience spent in the UK, Brussels and The Hague, representing organisations from both the public and private sphere and working in and around the EU institutions. 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. Helen lives in Leiden with her husband and two children.

Jen Vosler

Job Titles:
  • Legal Researcher
  • Legal Researcher, the Netherlands

Jo Bartnicke

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Employee Experience Director, Unilever

Julia Onslow-Cole

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Partner
  • Partner, Global Government Strategies and Compliance, Fragomen, UK
"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 lead 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 recently joined the Board of Directors of the Dubai International Chamber, an appointment approved by the ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed. Julia also sits on the Board of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Permits Foundation, Labor Mobility Partnerships and Breaking Barriers. 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.

Kathleen Travaille

Job Titles:
  • Communications Manager
  • Communications Manager, the Netherlands

Kathleen van der Wilk

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Director, Permits Foundation Board
Kathleen van der Wilk-Carlton has more than 25 years experience in international HR management, initially with the Shell Group in the UK, Latin America and the Netherlands, and in recent years as an independent consultant. Her passion for dual career support grew from 1995 when she set up the Shell Group's programme of career and employment advice for the partners of international staff worldwide. She managed that service, which became a model of best practice, until early 2004. Through this role, Kathleen identified the need for a concerted international effort to improve the access of partners to employment by relaxing work permit regulations and initiated discussions with other companies leading to the set up of Permits Foundation.

Leena Nair

Job Titles:
  • Formerly Chief HR Officer and Member of Unilever Leadership Executive ( ULE ), UK
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.

Matthias Lommers

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Partner, Global Employer Services, Immigration and Social Security, Deloitte, Belgium

Olivier le Peuch

Job Titles:
  • Chief Executive Officer of Schlumberger Limited
Olivier Le Peuch is chief executive officer of Schlumberger Limited, 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 Schlumberger 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 Schlumberger 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

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the Board of Directors, ABB Ltd, and Former CEO Royal Dutch Shell

Philippe Cabanettes

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Director, Permits Foundation Board

Satish Pai

Job Titles:
  • Deputy Managing Director
  • Director
  • Managing Director Hindalco at Aditya Birla Group
"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." 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.

Siobhan Cummins

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Director, Permits Foundation Board
  • Strategic Mobility Advisor
"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.