Tax Leaders Unplugged

Loctax

Welcome to the Tax Leaders Unplugged, a podcast hosted by Stevi Frooninckx (CEO & Co-founder at Loctax), where we go beyond the numbers and the rules, delving into the essence of leadership in the tax world. Our focus isn’t on tax technicalities; it’s on the people behind them. Join us for in-depth conversations with leading in-house tax professionals, exploring collaboration, team management, and career development. Stay tuned for unique insights and advice you won’t find on Google, tailored to enhance your tax leadership journey.

  1. Secrets of Successful Tax Leadership in MENA's Tech Industry | Stuart Ramsay

    7月24日

    Secrets of Successful Tax Leadership in MENA's Tech Industry | Stuart Ramsay

    Stuart Ramsay, now Director and Group Head of Tax at AD Ports Group (note: episode was filmed while he was still at Dubizzle Group), joined us to discuss building a strategic in-house tax function from scratch in a fast-growing MENA tech company. In this episode, he shares: • A major leadership challenge (moving from a 50 000-employee logistics giant to a 5 000-employee tech scale-up with no existing tax team) and how he solved it through a “mini tax due-diligence” in his first 30 days. • Real-world results, including cutting potential compliance filings from 100 to 12 through entity rationalisation and introducing private GPT translation that saves roughly $200 and three days per Arabic tax return. • Best practices for UAE corporate tax Day 1 readiness, VAT specialisation, and low-budget tech adoption that other in-house teams can replicate. — Where to find Stuart Ramsay: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-ramsay/ Where to find Stevi Frooninckx: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevifrooninckx __ In this episode, we cover: (0:00) Intro and Stuart’s journey from Glasgow to Dubai (4:03) Why the GCC moved from 5 % VAT to a 9 % corporate tax (18:25) Pillar II plus UAE CT: using one data set for both regimes (32:27) From DP World to Dubizzle: smaller company, bigger influence (40:05) The power of saying “I don’t know” to win executive trust (42:18) Mini tax due-diligence: a 30-day map of filings and risks (43:45) Filling blind spots: hiring a VAT specialist and adding AI translation (47:15) Two career rules: balance hard-soft skills and embrace change (54:02) Final advice and closing

    56 分鐘
  2. VP Tax at Dell on Reputation, Risk, and Real Leadership (Lionel Nobre)

    6月17日

    VP Tax at Dell on Reputation, Risk, and Real Leadership (Lionel Nobre)

    Lionel Nobre, VP Tax Latin America at Dell Technologies, joins the Tax Leaders Unplugged podcast to explore what in-house tax leadership looks like in practice. After nearly two decades at Dell and deep involvement with TEI and academic programs across the Americas, Lionel brings a clear message: being technically strong is no longer enough. In this episode, he shares: • How he built a 100-hour international tax management program focused on leadership, stakeholder communication, and operational readiness. • Why the tax team at Dell tracks the number of “surprises” as a KPI, and how this drives trust with business stakeholders. • What it means to position tax as a function that enables growth, not just manages compliance. — Where to find Lionel Nobre: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lionelnobre/ Where to find Stevi Frooninckx: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevifrooninckx — In this episode, we cover: (0:01) Intro and Lionel’s background in tax and tech (1:02) Early career: Oracle, Arthur Andersen, BDO, Grant Thornton (2:21) 18+ years at Dell and evolution of his role (3:00) TEI involvement and Latin America’s growing voice (4:59) Why TEI matters for in-house tax professionals (8:09) Dell’s approach to tax as a business partner (10:48) Building trust and internal tax reputation (14:55) Launching the International Tax Management Program (18:18) Who the program is for and what it teaches (22:10) Curriculum: leadership, ops, communication, tech (23:10) Tax KPIs and team performance evaluation (24:00) The “surprise” KPI and why it matters (26:28) Why even good surprises are a problem (28:22) ETR impact: linking C-suite access to outcomes (30:54) Teaching change management in tax teams (33:40) Partnering with CIAT to teach cooperative compliance (35:07) Risk dashboards used by tax authorities (38:39) AI, data quality, and audit exposure (42:52) Global expansion of the training program (44:50) Future skillset: 50% tech, 30% business, 20% tax — Referenced: • TEI – Tax Executive Institute: https://www.tei.org/ • International Tax Management Program – launched in 2023, hosted by universities in Brazil (Insper) and Argentina (UTDT) • Thomson Reuters Book – “Gestão Tributária no Brasil” co-edited by Lionel Nobre • Texas A&M University – where Lionel lectures on tax leadership• CIAT (Centro Interamericano de Administraciones Tributarias) – partner on cooperative compliance module

    52 分鐘
  3. How NN Group’s 14-Person Tax Team Manages €1.3B in Tax Contributions

    3月26日

    How NN Group’s 14-Person Tax Team Manages €1.3B in Tax Contributions

    Peter Paul Boon, Global Director Group Tax at NN Group, joins Tax Leaders Unplugged podcast to discuss how a 14-person tax team manages tax strategy and compliance for a multinational insurer with 19,000 employees. In this episode, he shares: - Why NN Group prioritizes strategy over technical tax knowledge - How to scale a tax function without increasing headcount - The 80/20 rule of tax leadership—why tax is mostly a business function - How NN Group trained non-tax teams to take accountability for tax risks - Why NN Group publishes a Total Tax Contribution Report—and how it -changed their governance approach Key Insights & Learnings ✔ Tax is 80% business understanding, 20% technical knowledge "Most business leaders don’t care about tax memos. They need solutions, not explanations." ✔ Train your tax team to speak business, not tax "If you can explain tax to an 8-year-old, you can explain it to your CFO." ✔ Decentralize tax responsibility across the company "With 19,000 employees, tax risks can’t sit with 14 people. We train the business to take ownership." ✔ Be transparent: Why NN Group publishes its tax contribution report "We started tracking our total tax contribution internally in 2013. Now, it’s a public report and a governance benchmark." ✔ The secret to influencing the CFO: Speak in cash impact, not regulations "Your CFO doesn’t want surprises. Show them the numbers and the risks—without the jargon." 📍 Full conversation breakdown: [00:00:00] Introduction – Peter Paul Boon’s journey from Dutch tax authorities to in-house tax leadership [00:01:42] Why NN Group’s tax team is deeply involved in social innovation and financial literacy programs [00:04:40] The Tax Elevator Pitch Test – Why explaining tax to an 8-year-old is the best stakeholder training [00:05:28] Why Peter Paul Boon has stayed at NN Group for 25+ years and how he’s kept the job interesting [00:08:54] Encouraging tax team members to rotate into other roles in the business [00:09:54] How long does it take to reach full speed in an in-house tax role? [00:11:36] The 80/20 rule – Why tax leadership is 80% business, 20% technical knowledge [00:13:33] The difference between advisory tax work vs. in-house tax leadership [00:19:00] How NN Group trains 19,000 employees to be tax-aware without overwhelming them [00:20:36] 14 people managing tax for 19,000 employees – How they make it work [00:22:13] Why tax teams should bring solutions, not problems – making tax advice business-friendly [00:25:06] Letting Other People Do the Work (LOPDTW): How NN Group decentralizes tax risk [00:26:31] How to make tax the co-responsibility of the entire organization [00:29:03] How NN Group trains its tax team beyond technical knowledge [00:31:17] The CFO-Tax Relationship – How to communicate risk and value [00:34:21] Why tax teams should stop doing recurring compliance work [00:35:40] How NN Group absorbed Pillar Two compliance without hiring more staff [00:37:01] What Peter Paul Boon looks for when hiring: Eagerness, creativity, and being a team player [00:39:10] Total Tax Contribution Reports – Why NN Group made tax transparency a priority [00:47:00] Why NN Group started tracking total tax contribution internally in 2013 [00:51:05] Final advice: Be creative. Challenge everything. Think bigger.

    52 分鐘

簡介

Welcome to the Tax Leaders Unplugged, a podcast hosted by Stevi Frooninckx (CEO & Co-founder at Loctax), where we go beyond the numbers and the rules, delving into the essence of leadership in the tax world. Our focus isn’t on tax technicalities; it’s on the people behind them. Join us for in-depth conversations with leading in-house tax professionals, exploring collaboration, team management, and career development. Stay tuned for unique insights and advice you won’t find on Google, tailored to enhance your tax leadership journey.

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