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Christopher G. Guldberg

Partner
Baker & McKenzie LLP

Biography

Christopher G. Guldberg has been practicing in the employee benefits and executive compensation areas since 1992 and is a senior member of the Firm’s benefits practice. He is a member of the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee, and serves as a volunteer advising attorney for the Center for Disability and Elderly Law. Mr. Guldberg is a regular contributing author to Corporate Taxation and is a co-editor of the Firm's Compensation & Benefits Quarterly Newsletter. Mr. Guldberg has spoken on numerous benefit topics including executive compensation, retirement and health plans and health care reform, employee benefits in mergers and acquisitions and employee benefit issues for multinational corporations.

Practice Focus

Mr. Guldberg advises on a wide range of benefits issues including design, implementation, operation and termination of tax-qualified retirement plans and welfare benefit plans. He assists with all aspects of regulatory compliance associated with employee benefit plans and regularly advises clients on ERISA's fiduciary and prohibited transactions provisions. He also has helped clients correct benefit plan defects through DOL and IRS voluntary correction programs and has assisted clients with negotiated settlements with regulatory authorities.

Mr. Guldberg has substantial experience drafting and advising on executive and incentive compensation arrangements such as employment agreements, equity-based compensation plans and nonqualified deferred compensation plans, including advising on the operation of Code Sections 409A (nonqualified deferred compensation), 162(m) (USD1 million limit on compensation) and 280G (change in control). In addition, he advises on employee benefits issues associated with a global workforce, including issues related to US benefit plans, as well as structuring and establishing global benefit and incentive plans. Mr. Guldberg also advises employers on employee benefits and executive compensation matters in domestic and international mergers and acquisitions and the benefits transition and integration issues associated with such transactions.

Representative Legal Matters

A selection of recent representative matters Chris has advised on with respect to all executive compensation, employee benefits and executive employment matters, both domestic and global, include:

  • Advised Spectrum Brands, Inc. on its divestiture of Rayovac to Energizer for USD 2 billion.
  • Advised Servier S.AS. in its USD 2.4 billion acquisition of Shire Plc’s oncology sector.
  • Advised Global X Management Company LLC in it’s acquisition by Mirae Global Investments.
  • Advised CRIF S.p.A. on the USD 20 billion sale of the ACTion, Synergy and Achieve divisions of CRIF Lending Solutions by Thoma Bravo.
  • Advised Gravity Midstream Corpus Christi and EnCap Flatrock Midstream on the sale if Gravity Midstream Corpus Christi to Pin Oak Corpus Christi.
  • Advised CVC Capital Partners on the USD 1 billion acquisition of Anchor Glass Container Corporation.

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Illinois State Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
  • National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP)
  • Global Equity Organization (GEO)

Admissions

  • Wisconsin~United States (1993)
  • U.S. Tax Court~United States (1993)
  • Illinois~United States (1992)

Education

  • Georgetown University Law Center (1992)
  • Syracuse University (1991)
  • Syracuse University College of Law (1991)
  • Indiana University (1987)

Languages

  • English